And so it begins, the ashes that await a Phoenix. We begin the long walk of Lent with frank recognitions: we are broken and we don't live forever. Those apparent but oft-denied truths serve as reality markers for anyone who dares to be scathingly honest. Those are not the last words but they certainly are among the first ones. Right after we hear "and it was good" from the creation narratives we hear an echo that reminds us that we haven't played well with others and the clock is ticking.

Ash Wednesday is meant to be that sobering. And hopeful, too.

This Lent we will be "reframing" everything. That means that we are picking up our stories and allowing them to collide with sacred stories. When things rotate 90 degrees you begin to see life differently. That's our hope, that we reframe what is already seen through a new lens. If the world changes it may begin with our own eyesight.

God does things like that.