Like Fried Pork Chops and A Mother's Love

This morning I am thinking about a wonderful chat I had with my mom the other day.  I wanted to surprise her by bringing her lunch, so I didn’t call before stopping by.  Consequently, she had already started cooking up something in the kitchen, and a mouth-watering aroma filled the house.  “I didn’t know you were coming,” she grinned, as she gave me a hug.  “I was frying me some porch chops.  But that’s okay.  I can eat those for my dinner.”  So the two of us sat and enjoyed our lunch, as well as some great conversation, until it was time for me to head back to work.  In the car, I smiled to myself as I acknowledged two things.  First, I was heading back to the office with my hair and clothes bearing the lingering smell of fried pork chops!  Secondly, I was completely saturated in the priceless fragrance of my mom’s immeasurable love for me.  This fragrance went far beyond my hair, clothes, or any other superficial layer of my physical being.  It penetrated through to my very soul—soft, but powerful and distinctive.  Today, this has provoked me to ponder and wonder:  What is the scent that lingers on those who have spent time in my presence?  What are the things I have been “cooking up” in my life, which permeate the atmosphere around me?  I thank God for the people He sends my way for different reasons and through different seasons.  I can’t always predict the circumstances under which they come to me, and quite frankly that’s none of my concern.  But once they’ve encountered me, whether for a few moments or for decades, I desire that their lives will be infused with things that are pleasant and beautiful.  Just as God has perfumed my life with His indescribable grace and goodness, I pray to impart something to others that lingers, something that sticks to them and causes them to smile even after they’ve gone on their way.  Something like peace and mercy…like friendship and faithfulness…like joy and laughter…like hope and strength…like fried pork chops and a mother’s love.  May it be so.