Wednesday, February 18, 2015 | Ash Wednesday: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.” I’m wondering if it’s possible to treasure washing the dishes. This would mean treasuring the fact that I am alive—as Paul puts it, that I am “treated . . . as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” If I could do it, I would remember and experience what a miracle life is.

I would wake up in the morning and notice right away how good it feels to take a long, deep breath. I would wiggle my fingers and my toes and notice the snuggly weight of the blankets caressing my body. I would keep my eyes closed and notice that the light shines through my eyelids anyway, giving me a vision of orange and red with a layer of translucent black. And when I opened my eyes, I would notice that I see color: my spring-green quilt with cream-colored polka dots on one side, and—where the top is folded down—yellow and purple flowers on a cream background. I would celebrate color in my life, and it would be enough.

If I could remember that I am alive today, rather than just living my life without noticing, I would be grateful for the cool wooden floor under my bare feet, and I would be amazed that the dishes can be used again and again and again. They are there, waiting for me to put eggs and toast on them for breakfast, and sandwiches and soup for lunch. When I washed the dishes, I would think about all the people who have eaten off those plates while sitting around the dinner table with me. I would think about the laughter right along with the moments when tears welled up in the corners of our eyes as we told each other stories of real things happening in our lives. I would even be grateful for the awkward silences that have sometimes happened when new friendships were trying to be forged. Those silences remind me that I am vulnerable and that I want to be loved and accepted, just as other human beings do.