What Fragrance Are You Wearing?

I met a friend for lunch.
We were so glad to have this time together.
It would not be a long lunch, since she was on her lunch hour.
We hugged our hello.

You smell good, I said to her.
What perfume are you wearing?
Oh, Gina, you know how I love perfume, she said.
I do know that; she wears so many different perfumes.

I smelled this one on someone in a store, she admitted.
I actually followed the woman until I could ask her what perfume she was wearing.
I laughed.
That sounds exactly like this friend of mine.

As I was driving home, I thought of her following the woman in the store.
I laughed again because that same thing happened to me.
Except I was the one being followed.
I was the one whose perfume had to be known that day.

I always loved perfume as well.
That was one thing my mother always told me.
Never wear heavy, cheap perfume; always think of the other person, she would say.
She said this to me after we had been in an elevator with someone wearing strong perfume.

I had a public speaking class in college.
My professor was blind.
There were so many things he noticed about me as I spoke in front of everyone.
He noticed my bracelet, clanking against the podium as I spoke; he noticed my perfume.

In those days, I did not have a signature scent.
I was just like my friend.
I had a few perfumes I liked to wear.
I would change them each day.

It wasn’t until I had my second daughter that I began to wear a signature scent.
My husband was away on business for a month of training and seminars.
In the middle of that time, I went out to California to be with him.
Our two daughters stayed at their grandparents while I was away.

Right before I left, I wanted to find a new perfume.
Never wear heavy, cheap perfume; always think of the other person.
I heard my mother’s voice.
I went to the Estee Lauder counter, where I had found fragrances before.

A new fragrance had just come out the year before.
The woman behind the counter sprayed some on my wrist.
I loved it.
I knew my husband would love it, too.

I arrived in California.
He noticed the perfume right away when he hugged me hello.
He loved it as much as I did.
There was no need to search for any other fragrance; I had found my signature scent.

I have been wearing this scent for thirty-three years.
I am so used to the fragrance, I do not even smell it on me any more.
Other people do.
I get compliments on this fragrance all the time.

That is not why I wear it.
I wear it because I like it; my husband likes it.
It is me.
I never realized the importance of a signature scent.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.  To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life.
(2 Corinthians 2:14-16)

The woman followed me around until she could ask me what fragrance I was wearing.
The blind professor saw me years later and knew me by my perfume.
I am certain that the fragrance lingers after I hug someone hello.
That is lovely, but there is another fragrance that is important to me.

I want to have the aroma of Christ.
I want to leave a room and have it known that someone who loved the Lord was there.
I want to leave the fragrance of Him in every encounter.
I want to hug Him one day in Heaven and know that I smell just like Him.

What fragrance are you leaving as you go about your day?
Is it the strong, cheap perfume of the world?
Is it the warm, loving aroma of Christ?
What is your signature scent?

2 responses to “What Fragrance Are You Wearing?”

1. Only you could take such a small moment and write about it so beautifully. I hope to also “leave the fragrance of Him in every encounter”. Beautiful.

   Reply

   • I enjoyed our lunch, Sherie! Your perfume did smell lovely!
     Agreed! Like you, I care more about leaving the fragrance of HIM wherever I go.
     Gina

     Reply