Separate and Together

"THEY" predicted they wouldn't make it.

In fact they insisted on it.

The folks at the nursery urged us not to buy the trees. When we insisted, they urged us to "save the receipt," because of the certainty that we would be bringing back the dead trees for a refund.

They were right.

Sort of.

One of the trees did succumb to the cold, but the other one has a mind of her own.

At the end of the driveway sits an unassuming little tree, but for one GLORIOUS week that tree fills the air with what I consider to be one of God's greatest smells. (that and fresh baked chocolate chip cookies)

Just the other day, I smiled to see those teeny tiny purple blooms ready to break open and each day I walked over to see, rather smell, and then when I least expected it, it happened,

They BURST OPEN!

As God tends to do, He revealed so much to me in those tiny, fragrant blooms.

That is really what they are....little tiny blooms, which on their own, smell nice.

I know because I pulled one off to smell it on its own. Apparently, so did most of the members of my family, for I've found little lilac flowers lying in unlikely places around my house.

I cut off a bouquet of the lilac branches and brought them inside, filled a glass jar and placed them beside the kitchen sink. Everyone who walked into the kitchen this week has commented on the "amazing" scent. The scent of those lilacs was unbelievable and for 7 glorious days, I was given a marvelous gift.

Then it occurred to me. The lilac flower on it's own was simply nice. It was the lilac flowers all together, resting on the branch that made the greatest impact. And thus the lightbulb went off!

This IS how Christ wants HIS church to be. He even tells us so!

"All of you TOGETHER are the one body of Christ, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it." 1 Corinthians 12:27 (TLB)

Each of us comes to the body as a flower, with a scent of our own, but when we unite TOGETHER, those separate individuals become ONE in that body of Christ.

I smiled.

God is so gracious to surround us with messages that we need to reinforce right where we are. It just so happens that we are a part of a plant church right now, and this message was not only timely, but profound for me.

A teeny tiny flower that would go unnoticed, if not for it's scent. The impact of those teeny tiny flowers when united and connected.... were so much MORE than they could ever be on their own!

My only wish is that I could somehow insert a "scratch and sniff" pod onto my screen and you could "smell" for yourself! The message is for each of us who are part of the Body of Christ, alone we are beautiful and perfect, but together we can impact that goes farther than we could EVER imagine.

Now that is a scent that is pleasing to God!

"Our lives are a fragrance presented by Christ to God...a life giving perfume."
2Corinthians 2:15

We ARE one body, and we do not stand alone.

Join Lori daily at her personal blogspot, where at the very least, she tries daily to see or smell the messages God has placed so graciously in her path.