fragrant

"Lord prepare me, to be a sanctuary;

Pure and holy, tried and true.

With thanksgiving, I'll be a living

Sanctuary for You."

The above lyrics have been very much on my mind in this season. They truly raise up the importance of a Christian's ability to carry the Lord with them throughout his or her daily life. It is not only an honor but a blessing to live in a way that allows the Lord to reside in you. It is impossible to carry Christ (in your actions, thoughts, and words) without Him making Himself evident in and through you. And His presence in you provides life, peace, and hope for whomever is both able to see Him and willing to accept Him. Thus, if we live in a way that invites God to work, He will enter the sanctuary we create for Him and then go on to encounter us and those around us in profound ways. The Lord blesses those who love Him sincerely, as I am just beginning to learn.

This past week in Sunday service, we sang this song ("Sanctuary") after I spoke on 2 Corinthians 2:14-15:

"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing."

Jesus was the ultimate and perfect fragrance to God the Father, and as followers of Jesus, we can only seek to share Him with the world by His own example. God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit equip us to share Their pleasing and glorifying presence in the world if only we ask.

Crater Lake National Park, along with much of Oregon and Northern California, has been largely filled with smoke for the past two weeks. Often, it falls so thickly on and around the lake that one cannot see the 5-ish miles across it. Some days, the smoke is even so bad that visibility is down to a half mile. On those days, every breath I take is somewhat of a struggle. I have to force myself to inhale. I've never been so constantly surrounded by this atmosphere. The aroma that I once relished is now becoming a more pungent and poisonous scent to me because it is confining. I cannot control the air around me, and whether I breathe shallow or deep breaths, all the oxygen I take into my lungs will be infiltrated by the same ratio of smoke along with it.

We employees are not provided with the specific masks that are able to filter out the very fine smoke particles in the air. As a boat crew that works outside and down on the lake where the smoke can be so dense, we have had to cut many tours out of our schedule in the past week, which can be a blessing and a curse. There is no predicting what the smoke will do on any given day. Every time I have spoken in some sort of certainty, God has laughed at me and the smoke did the opposite of what I expected. Sometimes it's smoky all day, sometimes it's clear only in the morning, sometimes it's clear only in the middle of the day... There are fires sort of all around us, and temperature and wind work together to make a different scene and pattern every day. We want to put people out on the water to see the lake, but the smoke affects us (some more than others), especially when we are out in it for long hours, and things can change extremely quickly. I am fortunate to say that I have not been affected very intensely by the smoke--at least yet--however, I pray its long term effects will be minimal as well.

What I have been realizing in the midst of the smoke, in this week since I spoke on being God's sanctuary and fragrance in the world, has really made me think. In the same way that the smoke contaminates the air, the fragrance of God permeates the atmosphere. However, rather than creating fear, darkness, and sickness, the fragrance of God draws people in and brings hope, light, and life. Socially, spiritually, emotionally, physically... living with Christ is not something that others can easily ignore. The fragrance of the Lord is not a "smell" that anyone simply gets used to and then forgets. It is something that stands out and refuses to fade into the background.

If I seek to be God's fragrance in this world, which I honestly do aim for each day, the people around me will sense the difference in the environment. They will know there is something different and refreshing and powerful about me, and they will see that I am the carrying that with me if I continue to walk in Truth and love.

All I can do is continue to pray (and ask others to pray, hint hint ;)) that God will fill me with His presence and power, and that He will create opportunities for encounters with people through me that reveal the mystery of the difference they sense: that it is not I, but One far greater who is using me as his vessel for healing and peace and love and Truth in this world.

As an encouragement and reassurance to those who might be worried about my health in this smoke: I am doing my best to be healthy, and I am making the very most of the spare moments in which the air is cleared. Yesterday, the smoke was overwhelming, and thicker than I had ever seen it. We ran zero tours that day, for the first time this season, and I was blessed with a day of rest, catch-up, and time with good friends new and newer. When the boat crew made it up to the rim and first saw the lake today, we were blessed and amazed to see the lake more clearly than we had seen it for weeks. The last two photos were taken this morning, one looking down the mountain into where the smoke has settled and one of the majestically clear Crater Lake itself. There is hope!

May the good Lord bless you and keep you, and help you to seek Him in spirit and in Truth.