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Ash Wednesday and the Spiritual Art of Taking Risks

We’re at Wrigley Coffee in Long Beach on Ash Wednesday, 2/18/2026, between 7-9am and noon-1pm, to offer the traditional imposition of ashes. If you can’t join us for one of the times of guided reflection at 7:30am, 8:30am and 12:15pm, you’re invited to move through this guide on your own.

What We Wish We Had Done

On Ash Wednesday we think about what it means to be human, to be a creature made of the dust, made to return to the dust, yet also brought to life and love by the very breath of God.

A writer with much experience caring for those approaching their return to dust, Bronnie Ware shares that people on their deathbeds often look backwards at their lives and express these five wishes about things they could have done differently: 

  • I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

  • Particularly from those who had been breadwinners for their families: I wish I hadn’t worked so hard and missed out on so many chances to connect with my loved ones.

  • I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

  • I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

  • I wish that I had let myself be happier, trying new things, laughing, embracing silliness and joy.

Today we’re going to take a few minutes to think about areas where we wish we had done things differently and still can. We can risk growth and healing.

Lectio Divina with Luke 19:1-10 

  • Today you’re invited to read a simple story with curiosity, listening to it prayerfully not once, but three times. Each time you read, be open to the Spirit bringing up different things, as suggested in the prompts below.

  • Reading 1: Our identities are complicated, but people often try to put us in simple boxes with broad labels. Listen for the labels and boxes used to describe Zacchaeus. What boxes do you feel nudged into in your own life?

  • Reading 2: Having regrets about our choices in life is human and shows us what we really value. Listen for the positive power of regret in Zacchaeus’ life. What do you sense God nudging you to admit that you wish you’d done differently to live in greater alignment with your values?

  • Reading 3: Sometimes we fear how people will respond when we admit our mistakes and make changes to live into our deepest values and healthy desires. Listen for the ways that Jesus receives and encourages Zacchaeus’s risk taking. What do you sense Jesus saying to you today?

THE STORY TO READ 3X

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

MOving from Regret to Healthy Risk

  • What’s something that came to mind for you as a regret - as something you wish you’d done differently in life? What do you think this regret tells you about what you really value and who you sense you’re really created to be?

  • What concrete step or healthy risk could you take today to live differently, to live into your true values moving forward? (Ex. reaching out to someone you’re sad to have lost contact with)

  • Is there a way you would like to make this a Lenten commitment or practice? (Lent, the season of preparation for Easter, does not always have to be about giving something up - it can be about taking something on as well!)

In Place of the Imposition of Ashes

Reminder: We’re at Wrigley Coffee this Ash Wednesday 2026, offering ashes between 7-9am and noon-1pm.

If you’re not able or interested in receiving the traditional ashes, smeared in the shape of a cross on your forehead, perhaps you’d still like to seal your time of reflection today with a physical and verbal self-blessing.

As you trace the sign of the cross on your forehead with your fingers, speak these words to your own soul:

Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

May you live now into the love God has created you for.

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Brenna RubioCity Church Long BeachComment