Lunching on Ash Wednesday

Sitting in a warm restaurant on an icy day,
We two did the usual.
Accounts of professional and personal
Comings and goings.
Stories of recent events, people, activities.
As is customary over a comfortable lunch.

How did that conversation turn?
Who knows!
But it did.
And testimonies began.
Two stories.
So different yet gripping.

Both divine interventions.
One dramatic.
The other seamless.
Completely inexplicable.
Defying rationalisation.
Events of irrefutable clarity.

But in the telling.
In the sharing.
Something unmistakeable.
God spoke again
To we the tellers!
An unforgettable encounter.

Experiencing the Spirit
Comes unexpectedly.
In an event.
In its retelling.
Changing us.
Affirming us.

From dust and ashes
We are drawn,
To pause,
And reflect,
On God’s
Eternal grace.

• Prof Lee D. Parker, February 2026

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