It was so good to be back in Sunday school this last week, even though we arrived fashionably late and y’all, there was no back way to get to our seats on the far side of the room. You have to walk all the way across the front and behind the teacher… We love our Sunday School class teacher and classmates – Sunday School was what we were first invited to at our church. Not long after we arrived this Sunday, our teacher introduced a man named David who he’d asked to share about his near death experience. Now I’ve read about these experiences before; but have never know someone who’d had one. We haven’t met David personally – we are in a large class and we are the newbies and we sometimes arrive late… David shared about an automobile accident he and his wife were in and his near death experience – he was very organized and had his notes and pictures on the screen for us all to see. It was amazing to hear. There was one part of his experience where he told how he could smell the bridle of a donkey Jesus was riding on. I could so relate to this part of his story as I experienced smelling a sweet fragrance in our entryway where I had our nativity scene still out in May of 2017.
It was an experience I will never forget. It had been a busy few days as both of our daughters had graduated from college on the same day. The Salesman’s family who’d come to stay had just left. We were expecting overnight company again that evening so I was changing sheets and making a meal. As I was stirring the pot on the stove, I could smell a lovely fragrance in our entryway around the corner – at first, I thought the fragrance came from wipes that his sister had used to clean things up when they left – she’s a neat nick. Like she left my house cleaner than she and her three boys had found it.
I went back to all my preparations that were in progress. I was drawn back to the entryway again because the fragrance was so lovely. I went there again and decided it was not the wipes that his sister used and what would she be wiping in our entryway? She had mainly used the wipes in their bathroom.
I went back to doing all the things you do when company leaves and more company is coming. But a third time, I was drawn back to the entryway and this time I asked the Lord what the fragrance was. I heard in my spirit as clear as day that he was pleased that I had my nativity scene still out.
The nativity scene was my mother‘s and my dad built a wooden stable for it to sit in. I usually pack up it up when the holidays are over and every month usually do a holiday related scene on the entry way chest for the month: Valentines, spring, Easter and according to what my yearly calendar was, we would’ve currently been on a Mother’s Day display which includes a Happy Mother’s Day cardboard sign painted by my youngest when she was very young and a blue dish that was given to Grandma Mavis by a suitor.
Every month, though when it came time to do a new scene, I remember thinking that I didn’t want to put it away. As I look back, I realize that I had made that decision for five months at this point.
It was the most lovely fragrance ever and I will never forget the lingering sweetness, And, I wish I could say that I lingered there as long as the fragrance did; but I was much like Martha and busy about much.
I’ve told the Lord that if He allows me to experience the sweet fragrance of Christ again, that I will turn off the burner, ignore the buzzer on the washing machine and sit and soak in His good pleasure.
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