HEAVEN SCENT
It was much too lovely of a day to drive, so my friend walked to meet for lunch.
She carried a gift wrapped in tissue and a bag. At the corner, she noticed a row of tender white buds sprinkled among green leaves. So on a whim, she snapped just one stem and tied it to the bag’s handle.
“Happy Birthday! It’s just a little something,” she said quickly to dismiss the protest before it could begin. I accepted the gift with reluctant gratitude; submitting to grace is not easy for me.
But unknown to my thoughtful friend, I needed extra grace that day.
My five-year-old self had been holding her breath, struggling to take hold of that year’s wish before it melted into the frosting of time.
That same little girl could still see her momma out of the corner of her mind’s eye, standing ever near, head tilted in anticipation to see that wish come true.
I had been born on Mother’s Day but never once thought to step aside and hand my wish to her.
Thoughts like that had rubbed my heart raw.
Taking the sprig of lily between my fingers, was like inhaling my childhood days -when the sun warmed the air and tiny white bells lined the clapboards of home. I could almost hear the strain of the spring on the screen door stretch before it slammed shut again.
I opened the note. My heart gasped. Inside was a familiar orange card, faded and stained from its place on the edge of Momma’s kitchen sink - a Bible verse set there to remind her of God’s love as she went about her day -rinsing, drying, and putting away while her daughter skipped among the flowers.
It was a piece of faith my mom had handed down to me that I had passed on to my friend in her darkest season. That day, of all days, the borrowed keepsake had been returned.
At that moment, my broken heart received a hand-delivered message from God in words it understood - in a language my mother had taught me long ago.
It simply said, “I know.”
And it carried with it the faintest aroma of the true Lily of the Valley, the unmistakable sweet scent of Home.
She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God Who sees me.’
Genesis 16:13 niv