February 22

Psalm 103:15-18

The days of a human life are like grass: they bloom like a wildflower; but when the wind blows through it, it’s gone; even the ground where it stood doesn’t remember it. But the Lord’s faithful love is from forever ago to forever from now for those who honor him. And God’s righteousness reaches to the grandchildren of those who keep his covenant and remember to keep his commands.

On warm summer days I sometimes sit on my front porch when I drink my morning coffee. As I look over the bright green and growing grass, I’m often reminded that it will soon be time to mow again. It seems in those moments that the grass will never stop growing, and yet, inevitably, winter comes and the grass is stopped in its tracks by the frost.

The season of Lent begins with a similar reminder: Ash Wednesday. The imposition of ashes calls our attention to the fact that, like the grass, our human lives are temporary. The psalmist compares our lives to a wildflower that blooms and then is blown away by the wind.

Yet this psalm offers a reason to hope: God’s faithfulness is not temporary. While our lives may be brief, the faithfulness of God to us, and to our descendants, continues long after we are gone. During this Lenten season, may we hold and reflect on both of these truths: Life is short, and God is with us. Take some deep breaths. On the breath in, say, “Life is short.” On the breath out, say, “God is with us.”