What’s Your Fragrance?

By:  Donna Martin

Phew!  We were driving to an appointment early in the morning before the sun rose.  As we drove through the center of town Mike barely missed a dead skunk in the road.  Even though it was already dead and we had not run over it, its disgusting fragrance remained with us for several miles down the road.

Fragrances make an impact on our life.  They can bring back memories of happy occasions.  Christmas is full of wonderful fragrances – pine needles, fires burning in the fireplace, cinnamon rolls, peppermint in hot chocolate, and all kinds of delicacies wafting from the table bearing a delicious dinner.

Fragrances can also remind us of people.  One of my daughter-in-laws told me that her children always smelled like me when they returned home after a visit at my house (I hope that is a good smell!).  Movies often show a man or woman caressing and smelling the clothes of a lost love and longing for their company.  And then there is the great aunt who wears too much perfume – not a good memory!

Fragrances can cause us to want to draw near to a person and they can cause us to want to run from a person.

Ephesians 5:1-2 tells us, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”  As we imitate Christ our lives should become filled with the sweet fragrance of God.  We should live so that others are drawn to the fragrance of God’s grace living in and through us.

Christmas is such a joyful time of celebrating Jesus’ birth.  It is a great time be “imitators of God”  as we spread his fragrance throughout the malls, at company parties, during time spent with our children, at the home of our parents’ and in-laws, wherever we go.  You may encounter many smelly skunks in the world, but don’t let their scent rub off on you.  Let the sweet fragrance of Christ permeate your life, your family, your home, your business and wherever you go this season and into the New Year.

The Martins currently present “Happy Together” Marriage Enrichment Events for churches and organizations.  To schedule an event call Michael at 940-735-1515. They are certified “Prepare/Enrich” Facilitators and are available to work with couples on an individual basis using the “Prepare/Enrich Assessment.”  They publish a weekly “Happy Together” Blog about family and marriage issues.  You can order copies of their new books Dancing With Death and 366 Tidbits We Have Learned in 14,610 Days of Marriage, read, and subscribe to their “Happy Together” Blog by logging onto the Martin’s website at www.happytogethermarriage.com.