Fragrance
by Dawn Mast

“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Corinthians 2:14, ESV).

Mark and I are nothing if not consistent, and the argument we visited often in the early years of our marriage was the management of finances. It should have been easy because we didn’t have anything to manage. But one day, I saw something I really wanted, and it was outside of our budget.

Downy.

Yes. Fabric softener had caught my eye, and not just the store brand. Real, pink Downy. The kind that if you use it your towels are fluffy and live bunnies come out of the dryer. That kind of Downy.

I mentioned my desire for fabric softener to Mark. He wisely looked at the budget and noticed there was little wiggle room for spending an additional five dollars. If I were keeping score, the percentage of him being right compared to my being right would be off the charts. However, he agreed the lab coats from the hospital were pretty scratchy, so off I went to buy something to remedy the problem.

Shortly after the fabric softener discussion, Mark was on a surgical rotation, and as a precautionary requirement, he had to remove his wedding band. During post-op rounds, he was checking the vitals on an older lady. As he leaned over to place the stethoscope on her chest, she said, “Oh! You must be married.” Mark looked down at his bare ring finger, a little perplexed, and said, “Yes. Yes, I am married, but how did you know?” This sweet old lady (to whom I will always be grateful) looked at him and said, “Because you smell like Downy.”

Our fragrance, be it good or bad, is something people notice. Scripture talks about the fragrance of Christ, reminding us the aroma that wafts around us is what people notice about our faith. It’s a heavy responsibility knowing people are watching and listening to us, but we need to be the sweet aroma of Jesus to a world desperately needing His fragrance. Those of us in medical marriages can take this practice into our day as we acknowledge the patients who approach us in public. Whether they are asking a medical question in the middle of the grocery store or just commenting that it’s nice to see their doctor’s family out and about, we can be especially polite, smile and offer a few words of encouragement. We can show the fragrance of Christ by the way we treat our spouse, family and others (even if all the kids are having a temper tantrum at once!)

As we love on and encourage our medical family members, the world will see how we handle favorable times as well as moments of stress, pain and frustration in our marriage. We are living out our walk with Jesus in full view of a hurting world, and His fragrance is so very needed.
 

Precious Jesus,
Help me to be the sweet aroma of you today. If I run into someone who is hurting, sick, tired or in any way needing to experience you, help me to be a sweet fragrance. I want to be a pleasant aroma that lingers and reminds someone you were a blessing to them when they needed it. Help me be your vessel and a blessing to someone. Thank you, Jesus!
Amen

Dawn Mast lives in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with her doctor hubby of 30+ years, her dogs and her four grown children (scattered around the state). She believes Proverbs 17:22 that states that “laughter is good medicine,” so much so she has even done stand-up comedy! Dawn also loves encouraging women that our Lord has always been and always will be faithful both in writing and at speaking at events.