How Then Shall We....Smell?

The roses are out in full force here. Their brightly color hues light up yards and parks all across the city. Pinks, reds, yellows, and whites, of all different shades, can be found and in one particular park, over fifty different varieties can be found. It's the place where every citizen has to go at least once a year. After all, my city is at its best when the flowers are in bloom.


Recently I got to take yet another walk in Julia Davis Park. It never gets old for me, although the fact that I am positively obsessed with flowers might have something to do with that. No kidding, though, I love when my family takes a picnic lunch and we eat just outside the rose garden. Today, I didn't have the time for a picnic, but I did have the time to stop and smell the roses.

Here's the thing: they didn't have a much of a scent. You would think that the really beautiful ones would indeed smell as good as they looked, but no. Actually they were the ones that had the least amount of scent. I should remember this year in and year out, but I don't; I get disappointed that they don't fit into my imaginings. As I was bemoaning the fact, God revealed a spiritual truth to me.

Sometimes, I can be just like these roses. I could look absolutely stunning, with my hair all perfect and my makeup done, yet I might stink. Not literally--hopefully--but figuratively. My heart, my spirit, might not look as beautiful as my exterior clothes. So am I really and truly beautiful? Or am I just a pretty face?

Sin builds up in our lives and pollutes us and our entire environment. Pride has a stench that can be discovered from a mile away. Hate can have a reputation as far reaching as the story of something well-renowned.

However, just like we stink, we might not have any smell. If we aren't willing to bloom, to open ourselves up to what God has for us, we can't open up and reach our full potential. We will be a bud that doesn't open--and the world might miss out on something amazing as a result! Roses need all sorts of various weather patterns in order to become a blossom that we enjoy every spring. Likewise, we have to go through times of sunshine and times of storms in order to truly become a beautiful flower, a testament to God's amazing goodness.

I'm resolved to try to always smell beautiful. I want to not only look nice on the outside, but I want to be nice on the inside as well. I don't want someone to be disappointed by my lack of grace, compassion, and empathy so that all they see is a mere shell. I want to be the whole package. I want to be the rose that does actually have an aroma.


Who is with me?