Turn Down the Volume

The weekend before Ash Wednesday is a rich moment to pause. It is the threshold between Ordinary Time and Lent, a space meant for reflection, invitation, and gentle encouragement.

Ordinary Time is where most of life happens. The routines, the schedules, the everyday responsibilities, the meals to cook, the emails to answer, the practices to drive to, the endless to-do lists. It is easy to think this season is called “ordinary” because it is less important.

But Ordinary Time is where God quietly walks with us in the middle of normal life.

And then Lent arrives.

Not to replace Ordinary Time, but to refocus it. To slow us down. To invite us into the quiet. To help us notice the God who has been present all along. Scripture reminds us, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

There is something about these days before Ash Wednesday that feel like a gentle invitation to turn down the volume of life. The noise is everywhere, busy schedules, notifications, plans, worries, responsibilities. Even good things can fill every corner of the day until there is almost no room left for quiet.

And yet Lent begins with ashes and silence.

Maybe this weekend is not about figuring out the perfect thing to give up yet. Maybe it is about asking a deeper question in prayer: What does God want me to hear when life gets quiet?

Sometimes silence feels uncomfortable because we are used to filling every moment. But God rarely competes with noise. He waits patiently in the quiet spaces we often avoid. Are we listening? Can we hear Him?

In the silence, God might be saying:
You do not have to carry everything alone.
You are loved exactly where you are.
Come back to Me.
Slow down.
Trust Me more.

Before Lent asks us to sacrifice, it first invites us to listen.

As Ash Wednesday approaches, the question is simple and gentle:
When the noise fades, what is God waiting to tell you? 

I pray we all take time to listen for the silence and hear God’s voice.