"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." Those were the last words that Rachel Held Evans ever wrote on her blog. 

The progressive Christian author passed away one week ago after a brief illness. Over the course of that illness, thousands publicly prayed for her in a social media prayer chain that went viral. 

Now her final words, written on Ash Wednesday, are comforting millions of fans, and are strangely fitting.

In the blog post "Lent for Lamenting" Held Evans acknowledged that many people who followed her were grieving.

"As the season of Lent commences, I am aware this year of all who find themselves in a season of frustration, grief, and lament over the church or their place in it," she wrote.

That's why Held Evans said she would take the season of Lent to share on her blog and social media different quotes, songs, books, and other resources that helped her in her own journey with grief.

It strikes me today that the liturgy of Ash Wednesday teaches something that nearly everyone can agree on. Whether you are part of a church or not, whether you believe today or your doubt, whether you are a Christian or an atheist or an agnostic or a so-called “none” (whose faith experiences far transcend the limits of that label) you know this truth deep in your bones: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return.”

Death is a part of life.

My prayer for you this season is that you make time to celebrate that reality, and to grieve that reality, and that you will know you are not alone.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

As Lent came to a close on Good Friday, Held Evans' husband had first confirmed that she was in a medically induced coma. She passed away in the early morning hours of May 4, 2019.