The Long Road to Easter

by Pastor Krista Price
Week of February 16, 2026

Tomorrow we begin again.

The ashes are ready. The table is set. Communion prepared. The sanctuary quiet, waiting. And in that stillness is an invitation — not just to attend a service, but to begin a journey.

Lent is forty days (not counting Sundays) that lead us toward Easter. But it is more than a countdown. It is a deliberate walk — a long road that ultimately leads to Golgotha. It is a journey inward before it is ever outward. A season that asks us to slow down long enough to notice our own souls.

This year especially, that feels necessary.

There is so much noise in the world. So many voices competing for attention. So much that unsettles and distresses the heart. We are told many things about what matters, what is true, and what is good — and not all of it reflects the heart of Jesus.

When Jesus met the woman at the well, He offered living water — grace, dignity, belonging. But He also called her to transformation. Love and repentance were not opposites. They were companions. “Go and sin no more” was not condemnation — it was invitation. A call to new life.

Ash Wednesday holds that same tension.

We receive ashes — a reminder of our humanity and our need for grace.
We receive communion — a reminder of mercy already given.
We receive prayer — a reminder that we do not walk this road alone.

And then we walk.

This Lent, there will be opportunities not only to receive, but to respond — to take something with you, to leave something behind, to give something away. My prayer is that this season will not feel routine, but renewing. Not hurried, but intentional. Perhaps even different than any Lent you’ve experienced before.

This Ash Wednesday I will be here from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., ready to pray with you. If you can, come. Stop in between meetings. Come on your lunch break. Slip in after work. Even a few quiet minutes can anchor your spirit.

Let this be the beginning of a journey that shapes your heart — a journey that leads, step by step, toward resurrection.