VOTE

This February, Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day arrive side by side, and together they speak
a powerful word of grace. Ash Wednesday reminds us that we are dust — fragile, imperfect and
in need of mercy.

But Lent is not a season of shame; it is a season of renewal. It tells us that God meets us in our
broken places and begins again with us. Scripture says that God brings ‘beauty from ashes’
(Isaiah 61:3), and that promise includes every life, every story, every heart.

Valentine’s Day, in its own way, echoes that same truth. It reminds us that love — real love,
God’s love — is not earned by perfection. Romans 8:38–39 tells us that nothing can separate us
from the love of God. Not our past.

Not our failures. Not the mistakes we wish we could undo. Not even the walls that surround
you now. God’s love reaches into every corner of the world, including the places that feel
forgotten.

Lent invites us to walk toward forgiveness, not just God’s forgiveness, but the forgiveness we
need to offer ourselves. Many of us carry heavy burdens: regret, guilt, shame, the feeling that
we have gone too far or fallen too hard. But the gospel tells a different story. Jesus meets
people in their lowest moments and lifts them up. He restores dignity.

He offers second chances. He calls people by their true names, not by their worst decisions. In
John 8, Jesus stands beside a woman condemned by others and says,

‘Neither do I condemn you.’ In Luke 15, the father runs to embrace the prodigal child before a
single apology is spoken. These stories are not just ancient tales — they are windows into God’s
heart. A heart that forgives. A heart that restores. A heart that believes in new beginnings.

So, as Lent begins, I pray you feel the truth that your story is not over. You are not defined by
the hardest chapter of your life. God is still writing, still healing, still calling you forward.
Forgiveness is real. Second chances are real. And God’s love is not limited by bars, fences, or
past mistakes.

May this season be a reminder that you are held in grace, that renewal is possible, and that
God’s love — steadfast and unbroken — goes with you every step of the way.

Bobbi Shaffer
Sylvania