A Sweet Fragrance-by Heidi McLaughlin
Posted: May 9, 2021
Beauty pulls me into its orbit like a magnet. Whether it’s clothes, art, shoes, dishes, candles and especially book covers, I’m helpless and hopeless. And when I’m God’s creation and see the glistening water, traverse the hills and hear the birds, my heart is in awe and overflows joy. Springtime in British Columbia, Canada is a mosaic of colours, sounds and fragrances. The last month I’ve been hitting the trails and hiking in hills and groves covered in yellow balsamroot flowers, and white Saskatoon berry bushes. Often I stopped to lean in and smell the sweetness of the blossoms. What joy!
We need to lean in to smell the fragrance.
Which makes we wonder. In our present tumultuous and painful world where do we find beauty? These days certainly not in the news, social media or conversations. Most of us can’t go to church and get infected with spiritual uplifting and joy. And yet, more than ever in this dark period in the history of the world, we need beauty and a sweet fragrance.
And that sweet fragrance is you and me.
Yes you heard me, instead of first seeking the fragrance, we need to become the fragrance. For those of us who have Christ living in us, we have to be that sweet aroma for a hurting and suffering world. The Bible tells us: “Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life. “ (2 Cor. 2:14-16 MSG)
I can smell a Christ filled aroma a mile away.
So in the middle of Covid, how can we be a fragrance? First of all, fill yourself with the aroma of Christ so that you can pass it on. Each day pray and ask God how can you be a blessing in some significant way. Doesn’t have to be big, God can use small gestures and make them extraordinary. Such as sending a card, dropping off cookies or flowers, asking someone to join you for a walk, smile with our eyes and tell someone you’re praying for them.
You and I are the fragrance of God in a lonely, depressed and dying world. In the same way that I lean in to smell a Mayday tree (Prunus Padus) I hope and pray people lean into me for the fragrance of Christ. In the next couple of weeks, how can you and I be the aroma of Christ to someone who needs a breath of life? Let’s pray and ask God to help us.
One response to “A Sweet Fragrance-by Heidi McLaughlin”
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Oh yes I want to be the fragrance of Jesus too. To be a woman who people can tell who I belong to long before they are near me.