The Scent Of My Mother

This is appropriate on Mother's Day. It is from April 23,  2017.

I was sitting in worship this morning when I smelled my mother. It was only for a couple of seconds but I know it was her. Maybe it was just some lady walking down the aisle or the air conditioner blowing just right very briefly but I felt like Mom was in my presence. This isn't some mystical rambling or deep psychological need to share inner thoughts. No, I simply became aware of the aroma of Jergens Lotion. I don't know if my mother wore perfume- I assume she did- but she always wore Jergens Lotion. So briefly this morning, I was whisked to my childhood by a long forgotten fragrance which I never really forgot. It's pretty hard to forget the bouquet of the one who brought you kicking and screaming into this world and subsequently raised you. For a very brief moment, I was a little boy again.

Part of the Biblical teaching of being fearfully and wonderfully made is, I believe, the God given gift of being able to transport yourself to another time and place through something as simple a sight or a scent or a sound. The departed come alive again for a second and the sweet reliving of a moment can bring a fleeting smile. Mom smelled like Mom but the neat thing is she smelled like Mom to many other people as well. She never turned anyone away who needed love, much to my chagrin as a kid. She was my mom- our mom if you throw in my siblings- and not the whole world's mom which was a role in which she seemed to relish. There were those mourned the death of my mother as if it were their own, which to many, it was. Paul taught that believers are, or should be, the aroma of Christ. Today, I was reminded Mom fit that description. She just came wrapped in the contents of countless plastic bottles of Jergens Lotion.

Applicable quote of the day:
My mother was a Sunday school teacher. So I am a byproduct of prayer. My mom just kept on praying for her son. 
Steve Harvey


God bless,
Steve/fortunate son of Sarah Nelda Chesshir Hawley
Luke 18:1
E-mail me at shawley@westburychristian.org