Fragrance of God

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Bridge to Terabithia
By Katherine Paterson







"You can call me Flower, if you want to."

As I stand at the kitchen counter, my work space is compact and sublime. My hand grasps the 4 1/2 inch santoku knife carefully but with confidence - this is my all-time favorite knife. I know there are more that come with the set, and I do use the paring knife for peeling potatoes, but when I need to slice or dice something, it is almost always with my trusty santoku. It is balanced and substantial, a trusted agent of movement and precision.

The blade of the knife slides through the medium onions on the cutting board, quickly creating a cubed pile of pale yellow beauty. Three stalks of celery create a heaping pile of variant green pieces of freshness. The peeled carrots offer delectable medallions of sweetness and bright color. As the large pot has 4 tablespoons of butter and some extra virgin olive oil quickly getting very hot, ready for work. This mirepoix is dropped into the heating fat and the delicious sautee becomes enticing, amazingly fragrant. Its fragrance wafts slowly through the kitchen, like a subtle invitation through the whole first floor and up the stairs, alerting any hungry body that mom is making chicken noodle soup.

The smaller pot on the stove contains the orange peels and cinnamon from this morning's breakfast. At other times of the year, my fruit cliche is, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." And if it was my father saying it, it always has the tag, "when thrown properly!" Galas and Cameos, Braeburns and Yellow Delicious - we sure do love our apples. Fruit is the snack of choice, and that makes me very happy. But during cold and flu season, citrus, in our home, is the king of the fruit bowl and I try to keep the supply of fresh oranges available. It isn't easy with so many people who love a fresh orange. I am very pleased to know that everyone now is old enough to peel their own. I can remember that my thumbnail was permanently orange from December through March, simply from peeling one orange after another. It was never very great when I had a hangnail, that citrus bringing a zinger that doesn't go away even if you wash your hands three or four time. So now, as each of my TANK are getting their snack, they all get to hear, "Please save the peel for me."

I place them all in a pot on the stove, cover them with water, add about 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and a teaspoon of vanilla and put the fire to a simmer. I let them cook all day long, adding water periodically as the concoction reduces and evaporates. The aroma of this savory ambrosia is intoxicating. When I walk in the house from wherever I needed to go, stopping by the stove is the first thing I do. The delicious aroma eliminates the pangs of hunger, bringing such a substantial lusciousness that I feel like I have already eaten something. As it bubbles and simmers, its quiet work brings a fragrance that draws a soul close. It is as if I can see the red fox from The Little Prince standing in the corner, balancing his large cup of Earl Gray below his long pointed nose as he opines the deep wisdom, "On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur, l'essential est invisible pour les yeux." (It is only with the heart that one can see rightly: what is essential is invisible to the eye.) Antione de Saint-Exupery.

You are the perfume of God's love, walking and talking, loving and leading. God's presence in the life of a believer brings a fragrance from heaven, a holy fragrance interlaced within a holy life. It is not achieved without God's divine work. It cannot be imitated or construed, pretended or hypothetical. A holy life, lived out by God's direction and guidance, brings a fragrance to those around you. Inviting them closer. Bringing them step by step into your inner circle, causing them to stop and breathe in deeply. Pray to God today for the spiritual stamina to remain a beautiful testimony of His love to the dark world today.

There are people around you who are far from God, unsaved, broken. They are not walking through life wearing a sandwich board sign that says "Help Me" but they needs God's help just the same. They are friends, sisters, brothers, neighbors, roommates, landlords, colleagues. Let them breathe in deep from the heavenly perfume that a holy life brings. Bring heaven's encouragement to them, personalized with your hands, your feet, your eyes of compassion, your voice of concern. God's uses believers as the ambassadors of Christ, emissaries of His compassionate mercy and forgiveness. As the bearer of His heavenly fragrance, your devoted work becomes God's work. Every step you take today can spread the heavenly fragrance of God's holiness - spread it lavishly!!! Don't keep it to yourself, bottled up, keeping its immediate fragrance contained to be yours alone. Keep sacred matters at the forefront of your conversations. Don't just assure someone you will pray for them, stop what you are doing and pray right then, right there. Reach out with a hug or a physical form of reassurance. Share your story, your love story with Jesus; let the perfume of your testimony emanate with every step. You may not even leave the house today and still be a giver of God's fragrant perfume. Breathe in deeply of God's sweet fragrance.

Be imitator's of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us a gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and a sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:2.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; and to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to the task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God. 2 Corinthians 2:15-17

Beauty is the radiance of truth and the fragrance of goodness. Vincent McNabb

Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself. Ralph Waldo Emerson