Sweet aroma

Getting the mail has been a source of great delight as we've received so many cards and gifts of encouragement, wisdom, and love recently. A dear friend encouraged us with these words ... and I just have to share them here. I think they can apply to so many others who are going through difficult times. Here goes:

Dear C,

Thank you so much for sharing with me the different events (and your feelings about those events) over the past weeks. I am in a unique position because I can see and appreciate you as a young, godly mother as well as you being the older Christian mentor that you are to my daughter. You do so well in both roles!

I have been reflecting for some time now on how useful and fragrant herbs and flowers are when they have been crushed. As a result, in my own life, I have desired to submit to God when things seem to "crush" me in hopes that He can use me better. However, so many times I do not react well and I try to use any means possible to keep from feeling the pain.

As I was praying for you and D, I reflected on this imagery and, it hit me -- as with sweet basil and roses, crushing them only brings out what was already there to begin with. Hard things don't make us godly -- they only reveal what we already are in Jesus. And the sobering part for me is that when I am being crushed, I am giving off the fragrance of what I really believe about God. That greatly motivates me to submit my rebellious areas to the Lord.

C, I want you and D to know that during these difficult and sad days, you are giving off such a sweet fragrance from your hearts. It is impossible to fake this and I am both proud of you for clinging to your Lord and I am grateful to you as you encourage my own soul. Something I also realized as I was reading II Cor. 2:15 is that God is really the One who benefits from your sweet aroma most! May He be glorified all the more through you!

I, too, love this imagery and especially the part that the sweet aroma is all for Him!! This truly has brought some sense to this season of our lives ... and true encouragement from an older woman who I respect. It's words like these that we don't say enough as we watch others walk a tough path or hear enough as we face difficult situations. I'm recognizing more and more how many people around me are hurting. I can't imagine going through an insurmountable difficulty without a community of loved ones to surround me. And yet, I know there have been times when I have thought of a great idea to encourage someone (they probably really needed it!) -- and I never followed through. In that case, the thought doesn't count. Life is hard but without help ... it's even more difficult and painful. I miss many opportunities to be Christ's love to others.

So, in light of Valentine's Day around the corner, I challenge you to show real love to someone who has been on your mind and you simply haven't taken the time to really do something for them. And, realize that if you're a follower of Christ ... you are the scent of God's love that that person may need to take a big whiff of. If my actions give off just a bit of His fragrance, then my acts of love and encouragement need to be free and unrestricted.