Finding good news in the dust

This is the first year I haven't exchanged ash selfies with my mom. This was one of her favorite Christian days. So this year I am thankful for the woman who always heard "dust to dust" as good news. She didn't need ashes to remind her of her mortality, her body did that well enough. For her, the ashes were a promise. Ash to ash, dust to dust. A mantra assuring her that she wasn't alone in this journey, that we are all traveling through the "to," even if hers was a faster journey.

She was upset last year when she was unable to go to church because she was sick. But she got her ashes anyway, by the hands of a friend who came over and marked her after worship. The promise is true. The dust is good news. We are traveling the same journey, and we don't have to do it alone.