So why do we gather today to receive ashes? It is not a Holy Day of Obligation and yet today our liturgies will be filled with those looking to receive ashes.Ashes – is it just a tradition that we follow?Or…are we looking to make an outward of our Christianity?Or…are we remembering our own mortality and/or that of our loved one?It is for my friend, artist, writer and minister, Jan Richardson, who lost her husband this past December. As I was preparing my homily for this Ash Wednesday her blog post dealing with this loss…and the ashes came to light. And it hit me.Her story…your story…the ashes…and God. It is all there.