This is my first time to posting in Five Minute Friday. Five minutes of writing on the word of the week and this is what I ended up with....
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No, it’s not a joke.
It’s the sad reality of my typical first time driving somewhere. I can almost count on it. But this time I was under a time deadline to get my daughter to an appointment and I had no clue where my last turn had brought me. A desperate call to my hubby, David, gave me a sense of calm when I wanted to pound the steering wheel and scream.
I wanted out of there NOW.
But that just couldn’t be.
I had to continue through a difficult and confusing road before arriving at my correct destination. Through phone calls and texts he gently guided me to my goal.
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Too often I proceed in life thinking I know the way, when I really don’t.
I fuss and fume and pound my fists: mad at the situation and my stubbornness that got me there.
​When I finally call on the Lord, He gently speaks to me reassuringly that I will get to my destination.
It will not come as easily as it could have since I insisted on my way first, but He has promised to always be my guide. 

I used to find it tedious and time consuming, this little thing called chit-chat. My childish ears, oblivious to what was being said, eaves-dropped on Mom’s conversation with a friend at church about insignificant life events. Like a bee drawing sustenance from flower to flower, Mom would advance to another friend and begin the process all over again. During the week, Mom would call a friend who had mentioned a pressing need or problem and offered a listening ear and the promise to keep her in prayer. Her friendships were built from the smallest interactions gathered together with love.

I didn’t catch on to this until much later. As a teenager I thought, “My conversations are going to be substantial and full of meaning. No wasted words. No silly talk about how to make this casserole low-fat or knowing when the department stores have the best sale on children’s clothes.”  The desire to be profound inhibited my ability to see the prize to be found in mundane dialogues. If a bee passed up the insignificant flower to get to the really important blossom, gardens and honey would not exist.

I am mindful of what Luke 12:6-7 says about the little things, "Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? {Yet} not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” So, what does God think about? Sparrows, hair counts, our daily cares, as well as saving the world from sin. To God, all things have value; all things are worthy of His attention and interest.

I no longer pass off a request for a low-fat recipe as something not worthy of my concern, but rather receive it as an invitation to inquire as to why my friend needs to adjust her cooking. Not to pry, but to show an interest in the things that affect her. Asking questions allow me to dig deeper in understanding her life. A need for prayer can be met right there. She is the treasure I hold dear.

The mention of department store sales may now initiate an impromptu shopping trip crowned with a visit to the neighborhood coffee house. Our casual dialogue is a way to invite Jesus into life issues revealed in a relaxed atmosphere.
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Each little conversational moment offers significant value because God is in it.
Gather a bouquet of friendship and treasure its fragrance of life.

Studying the Bible never ceases to surprise me as God reminds me not to get complacent in my understanding of a passage of Scripture. He continuously speaks through His Word. Last Thursday night was one of those times where the Holy Spirit drew me into the life of another woman who was touched by Jesus. Or should I say this woman got hold of Jesus.

So many elements to this story vie for my further study,  but one thing I noticed from the Mark 5 passage comes from verse 30, “Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power {proceeding} from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched My garments?’”

Jesus is a walking energy source of healing and grace just waiting for someone to tap into Him. This power proceeding from Him didn’t affect the pressing crowd. The only one who received a surge of healing grace was that woman who dared to reach for it.

So I leave you with my impressions from that one hour Bible study:

To the woman who has heard time and time again there is no fix for what you’ve got and spent every last cent for that diagnosis;

To the woman who has been under the thumb of the law more years than you’d like to remember;

To the daughter relegated to the obscurity of isolation because you are the problem nobody wants;

God sees you.

God treasures you.

God’s Grace draws you out so that you are drawn to Him.

Grace imparts faith when no hope can be found in any other but God.

Faith reaches where fear retracts.

His Grace strengthens where you are weak.

His Grace heals where you are sick.

God’s Grace endows courage where once faintheartedness ruled the day.

Go forth, shining God’s glory - banishing the darkness that once occupied your life.

Your story is a beacon beckoning the disheartened to come and find safe harbor in God.

Only Jesus can meet our desperate reach with unparalleled Grace.

Grace and a tremendous love for a drooping, desperate outcast
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Like…..you? Like me? Some days. More days than we’d like to say.

Our ONLY Hope is Jesus. He radiates with power for anyone who would plug into Him, and Him alone.
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I encourage you to read more about this wondrous encounter in Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-34, and Luke 8:43-48.

In my hubby’s home state, summer’s last hurrah is the Great Minnesota Get together, otherwise known as the Minnesota State Fair. Lingering aromas of fried foods and just about any kind of food-on-a-stick known to man hover over this hallowed acreage in St. Paul. When we lived in the Midwest we made a day of it with all five of our kids in tow to see the fair from morning until the Great Midway lights shone bright. So much to see, so little time. As long as we were able, we would go.

I recommend purchasing a booklet of coupons good for a wide variety of purchases at the Fair. One year I procured 2 dozen roses for $10.00 at the Horticultural building. There’s something special about carrying 2 dozen roses with you wherever you go. People take notice and ask where you got them. They remark on the roses’ beauty. They smell the floral perfume wafting from red blossoms. Flowers can affect the atmosphere of a place in the most remarkable ways. This was quite evident on our bus ride back to the parking lot at the end of the night.

Weary fair goers filed onto the bus, dropping into the nearest open seat available. Parents with worn out children, energized kiddoes with worn out parents, teenagers on a date, and us. One mom in particular seemed to be on her last nerve with the kids. I knew how she felt. I’d been there years before. And there I sat with 24 of the prettiest, most fragrant endorphin producers in my arms and thought, “What in the world am I going to do with all these flowers? I have more than enough for myself. I have to share.” I looked at my husband and I looked at the weary mom and smiled.

Dispensing one rose at a time had succeeded to deplete my cache by 13. Each time I handed one out I reaped the joy of seeing a smile grow where previously there was none. And I was happier for it. I told them I wanted to share the blessing and in turn I was blessed. Funny thing about spending time amongst the roses, fragrance lingers after the flower is gone.

In our time with the Rose of Sharon we acquire the fragrance of our beautiful Savior. To some, it is a fragrance depicting the dying to oneself. To those who are being saved from this dying world it is a fragrance of renewal and transformation, to the glory of God.

Are there opportunities you have to release the Fragrance of Christ today?