ashes-to-go?

This is the second year we have offered Ashes to Go.I know the whole idea makes some people's blood run cold but my experience is that this is worth doing. I think I have given ashes to about 30 people today outside of a Church service (and a lot more within the services). When they tell the story of why they have come, which not all of them do, it is never a story of "I can't be bothered."
There was the couple in from out-of-state for one of them to have surgery at Mayo. There was a woman with a sick child. There were parents who had spouses away and could not get to Church easily. There was the woman who promised her son they would  go home and read about what they had just done. There was the crossing guard who told me how much she loved Jesus, there was even the reporter who had come from the local paper to cover the story.
Those who told stories spoke of regret at missing the liturgy of the day but were profoundly grateful for the opportunity to pause and receive ashes. We gave away Lenten meditation booklets, so that this was not isolated and random.
Someone had posted on Facebook that this was like having a vending machine for communion. No, not really. Bread and wine, taken, broken, blessed are a part of a sacrament- I am not sure ashes fall into quite the same category. They are a sign, a blessed sign, but they seem to be, somehow, more portable.
I would not suggest a vending machine for Ashes either. It is too important that we make contact with people, too important that we are a living face for the God who calls us to repentance. I would challenge the nay-sayers to, at least, observe ashes-to-go with an open heart and prayers for those participating. It is a rich blessing that God allows us to touch lives in such simple acts yet in such unknown ways.