“But thank God, who is always leading us around through Christ as if we were in a parade. He releases the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere through us. We smell like the aroma of Christ’s offering to God, both to those who are being saved and to those who are on the road to destruction.” II Corinthians 2:14 – 15
I had a rather interesting compliment the other day when I went to have some blood work done. The phlebotomist beside the one who was going to draw my blood, finished with her client (victim) and looked at me and said: “you smell like cookies!” I thought it was a sweet compliment. And I love cookies so being told I smell like cookies wasn’t a bad thing. It was interesting to say the least but not bad. Most would just say you smell nice. So, with her comment still ringing in my ears, my phlebotomist looked at me, sniffed, and said: “you do smell like cookies!” I guess there are worse things to smell like.
But it got me to thinking about smells and how they impact us. There are some scents that take me right back to my grandma’s kitchen and depending on which ones will depend on which Grandma. There are those that remind me of my dad. There are those that remind me of when my children were babies. The scent of freshly cut grass takes me back to the farm when the hay fields were being cut. Any time I go to the beach and smell the salt air from the ocean, it takes me back to California and feeding seagulls with my dad and eating smoked salmon. Anytime I open a jar of jam for the first time, I find myself back in our farm kitchen making jams with my mom. The fresh scent of new fallen snow, or the scent rain gives right before it begins falling from the sky bring to mind other favorite activities and fun times. And there are so many more scents that take me back to wonderful memories scattered throughout my life. Scents bring them up and they play like a movie reel in my mind as I remember the wonderful times a particular scent awakens in my mind.
I can’t help but think of the song: “The Way We Were” as I remember and the words: “memories light the corners of my mind” come unbidden into my thoughts. Scents, especially certain scents, take me back more often than not to simpler times with people that are no longer here. These scents are a way their memories live large in my life and I am grateful to them as I think about the people in my past who have meant so much to me and the ways, both big and small, they have influenced my life.
But we also offer our own scent to the world in how we act towards others. It gets hard when we are having a bad day or when someone steps onto a personal land mine surrounding difficulties we have endured in life. It is important to offer apologies, if at all possible, when those happen. If we are the ones doing the stepping and someone acts out of sorts or worse…I suggest offering margin as we don’t know what their day has been or what we might have accidentally triggered. And…because as we live and work in this world around other people, our attitudes are our pleasing aroma. And that pleasing aroma isn’t just for the people around us but also to God as we do God’s kingdom work. Basically, being nice “smells good” in its own way.
Stop and think about it…how do you feel when you leave someone who is just being plain difficult? And conversely, how do you feel when you leave someone who has been very nice and pleasant even when the circumstances are difficult? There is a big difference in what you take away from those encounters. And we have all had them and sometimes we are the authors of someone else’s difficult experience.
I guess what I am trying to convey is this: we all need to be aware of how we act. If we are having a bad day, be aware of your feelings. If you are like me, and have a few land mines in your life, try to be aware of them so you don’t get upset when someone unknowingly steps on one. Knowing who you are and why you feel strongly about certain things is important. And no one has a perfect life. We all have a personal land mine or two.
So, I will continue to work on who I am. I will continue to strive for self-awareness, as I continue to try to offer a sweet aroma to those I interact with even as I know I will also stumble and fall. And the best thing you can do when you fall is to get up and begin again.
For now, I guess, according to the phlebotomist, the sweet aroma I am apparently offering, has the scent of cookies.
Peace,
Pastor Beth
Beth's Blog 