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A smudge on the forehead can feel small, but it opens a wide door. We explore Ash Wednesday as a truthful beginning to Lent—less about performance, more about presence—drawing on the ancient use of ashes as signs of grief, humility, and honest turning. Steve reflects on why last year’s palms become this year’s ashes, how mortality grounds rather than shames, and why the most faithful move we can make may be to stop pretending we’re invincible.

Together we reframe repentance as realignment with love, not punishment, and we name the quiet relief that comes when community levels the room: no experts, no winners, just open hands. The ashes don’t change God’s posture toward us; they change ours. That shift invites practical steps—pausing to name a limit, bringing what we cannot fix into God’s presence, and asking a brave question: where am I being invited to turn this season? Along the way, we challenge narrow visions of Lent that focus only on giving things up or on self-improvement, and we move toward relationship, solidarity, and mercy that frees rather than burdens.

Whether you come from a liturgical background or have only watched Ash Wednesday from a distance, this conversation offers a gentle doorway into the season. Expect clear language, ancient context, and concrete practices that help real people in real time. If you do receive ashes, receive them as blessing, solidarity, and promise—the promise that God meets us in our limits and walks with us in our uncertainty. If you don’t, inhabit the moment anyway: tell the truth about your life and let love do the growing.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs gentleness today, and leave a review so more people can find a path into an honest Lent. What turn are you being invited to make?

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