Hearts and Ashes—Deeply Flawed Deeply Loved

On this Day of Hearts and Ashes—You Are Deeply Flawed but Also Deeply Loved

Posted on by Michele Morin

On this collision of holidays
         with ashes for mourning
         and hearts for love,
We are grateful, Lord Jesus, for your perfect love
         and for your wrath-absorbing sacrifice.

We confess that our own love is
         unreliable,
         intermittent,
         and usually utterly dependent upon our feelings and our circumstances.

Thank you for your steadfast love that extends to the heavens and reaches to the clouds.

Today we pray for those who are mourning a loss,
For those who are facing discouraging family situations.
We lift up to you those who are in need, those who are discouraged,
And those who are slogging through seasons of illness and pain.

Even on this day of ashes and repentance,
We rejoice because the greater Truth is the forgiveness You extend, for
Although we are deeply flawed,
We know that we are deeply loved.

February 14, 2024—On this day of hearts and ashes, we rejoice, because although we are deeply flawed, we know that we are also deeply loved.

And Now, Let’s Talk Books…

For women trying to sustain their marriage, nurture their children, and serve God by the sheer force of their will, Lean Into Grace will land like “good news from a far country!” Stacey Pardoe shares her own discovery that the grace of God would indeed hold up under the weight of her brokenness, that it was sufficient to overcome shame and to sustain her through the mind-numbing routine of daily mothering.

Lean Into Grace explores sixteen common areas in which many believers feel stuck in life and offers practical ways to experience freedom in Christ. What a relief to be reminded that Jesus comes alongside the believer with sinewy love—a love not dependent on our accomplishments, willpower, or flawless faith pedigree.

For women trying to sustain their marriage, nurture their children, and serve God by the sheer force of their will, #LeanIntoGrace by @StaceyPardoe will land like good news from a far country! #bookreview

Holding You in the Light,

Tomorrow Is Newsletter Day!

On the third Thursday of every month, I send a newsletter with biblical encouragement straight to my subscribers’ email inboxes. Frequently, I share free resources, and the newsletter is where everything lands first. I’m committed to the truth that women can become confident followers of God and students of his Word, and I want to help you along that path.

To add this free resource to your pursuit of biblical literacy, simply CLICK HERE. There, on Substack’s website, you’ll find a prompt that looks just like this image for Living Our Days with Michele Morin. Over on that site, simply enter your email and then click on the purple “SUBSCRIBE” button.

You’ll receive a welcome letter to confirm your subscription and monthly encouragement in your email inbox.

Looking for a New Bible Study Plan?

I just created a 13-day plan on the book of Hebrews—one lesson for each chapter.
It’s available for free at YouVersion. Simply CLICK HERE to get started!

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees. If you should decide to purchase any of the books or products I’ve shared, simply click on the image, and you’ll be taken directly to the seller. If you decide to buy, I’ll receive a few pennies at no extra cost to you.

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Published by Michele Morin

Michele Morin is a Bible teacher, writer, reader, and gardener committed to the truth that women can become confident Christ-followers and students of God's Word. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty-plus years, and together they have four married sons and a growing fleet of adorable grandchildren. Michele loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks, and days at the ocean with the whole family. She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.” She blogs at Living Our Days, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

11 thoughts on “On this Day of Hearts and Ashes—You Are Deeply Flawed but Also Deeply Loved”

  3. On this collision of holidays
    with ashes for mourning
    and hearts for love,
    We are grateful, Lord Jesus, for your perfect love
    and for your wrath-absorbing sacrifice.

    Thank you for this. I’ve been reflecting this morning on this collision of special days. It is no mistake and it is a testimony of Jesus’s great love for us.

    Like

    1. Whenever this happens, it stops me in my tracks because it’s such a vivid portrayal of our REAL standing before God. Thanks so much for reading and for taking time to add your thoughts.

      Like

  7. Wednesday was a confusing day on the calendar. But then I thought about how Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day are about sacrifice. Many of us give up things for Lent to remind ourselves of Christ’s sacrifice for us. Whereas to truly love others, we often have to sacrifice what we want to do to give them what they need.

    Your poem helped to bring it all together in my heart.

    I am joining you on the Grace & Truth linkup this week.

    Like

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