Aroma

Just outside my family room window is a wonderfully fragrant shrub. It blooms in early spring and its potent scent can catch you by surprise when you walk up to my front door. You find yourself wondering - where is that aroma coming from? But it doesn't take a curious person long to discover the source.

When people see you, hear you, watch you do they wonder - where is that coming from? What is the source of your thoughts, actions, and daily pursuits? How long would it take someone to discover Whose you are?

"For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." 2 Corinthians 2:15

Mountaintops

A dear friend of mine, recently moved from the gentle, low-lying land of the Tidewater Region to the rugged landscape of the Alleghenies. The words of the Psalmist speak to her in this place, "I lift up my eyes to the mountains- where does my help come from?" Reminding her, "My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1-2)

How blessed she is to have such a poignant reminder that the Lord is close at hand! How is the Lord speaking to you today? Can you see Him?

Story time

A few Fridays a month my daughters and I attend story time at our local library.  It's a brief twenty minute experience that includes a couple of songs, a finger-play, several stories and a craft.  But what is really interesting about story time are the people who come. There's Shane who brings a bag of Duplos and dumps them on the floor, so he can throw them around while he listens.  There's the twin sisters who sit quietly snuggled on their mother's lap.  And there's soon-to-be three-year old Sophie who tells everyone where to sit and if you are lucky, she'll hold your hand.

But the one who really intrigues me is Sophie's grandmother.  She's 71 and looks as if she's in her fifties.  This past Friday we were sitting together working on our Dr. Seuss puppets to commemorate the Seuss fellows birthday when Sophie's grandmother began to admire my daughter's long, brown hair.   "I want to tell you a story,"  she said softly.  And then she began.

When Sophie's grandmother was 9 years old she had long hair -  hair so long she could sit on it.  Her father had died when she was only twenty-eight months old leaving her mother to care for two young daughters.  Over the years her mother had made ends meet by doing bead work and sewing projects for people.  But this particular year as Christmas drew close, the family's resources were quite low.  One day her mother sat her young daughter -  with hair so long you could sit on it -  down on a stool, braided that beautiful long hair and then cut it off just behind her ears.  When she was done she wrapped that braid in tissue paper and took it to down-town Richmond to the doll shop where she sold it for $58.  "It was premium hair," said Sophie's grandmother.  "My mother was able to pay the electric bill, buy my sister a coat, a pair of shoes for me, a coat for herself, get 2 Christmas presents for each of us, and a turkey...all with the money she made from my hair."  
 
Sometimes love requires so much of us.  What is love requiring of you today? 

"Love each other as I have loved you."  John 15:12

Bread

She journeyed 1,000 miles to visit me in the peak of summer when the tomatoes were ripe and full, butter beans popping their hulls, and corn fresh and sweet.  I had learned so much from her as a child -  how to use my hands, how to sew, cook, wash a dish and set a table.  It was a special treat having her for a meal.  And every thought had been given to its preparation - homemade chicken pot pie, fresh cucumber pickle, locally grown tomatoes, butter beans, corn.  I checked the table one last time and then I called her, "Grandmother, dinner is ready." 

She came slowly - her 80 plus years adjusting her pace.  When she was finally situated at the table she took one long look at the feast set before her.  Without hesitating she turned her eyes toward me and said, "Where's the bread?"

"The bread?"  I responded.  "But, Grandmother there's crust on the chicken pie and starch in the beans and the corn..." 

She cut me off.  And with a steady eye she looked at me and stated, "You always should have bread."  Bread?  Yes, bread.  I knew that.  How could I have forgotten?  Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." (John 6:35)

Rejoice!

It's a simple thing.  Really.  Most nights before we climb the stairs for an evening's rest we gather together as a family and share our joys.  We've been doing this for as long as I can remember.  And most nights the joys are quite demure -  chocolate chip pancakes, a game won, a good test grade,  a friend to play.  I'm thankful for this moment.  It's simply one more way we rejoice in this gift called life.  I hope you are finding ways to rejoice, to celebrate the oh-so-extraordinary journey God has given you.