There is a smell that I love at the end of a stressful day; lavender, tea tree oil, and Echinacea infused into bath salts. Pouring them under the hot water, they dissolve in and release their fragrance into the air. Breathing deeply, I am reminded of the beauty of a wholesome scent. It’s not a flowery fragrance, a perfume, but is clean and healing.
There are some things to me that seem wholesome and healing, things that provide a beam of light when things are dark and grey. A friends voice, a baby’s laugh, a dog’s wet kiss, the feel of sunlight, the smell of an old book, laughter until we cry, the smell of oranges and snow. Those and many other things are little nudges, little whispers along the way that we are not alone.
Oh, to be not alone, what a wonderful promise. “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Never ever, not ever left or forsaken. Not forgotten, left behind, or misplaced. Never, not for just a little while or till something happens, till a relationship grows strained, or until someone moves – but instead, we are promised never.
Hebrews 13 is kind of a wholesome collection of last thoughts. You know, the kind that your mom gives you before you leave the house as a kid – be careful, don’t talk to strangers, etc… And in the middle of all of that, there is this great big beautiful statement. “‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” Never left, never forsaken – indeed it is a wholesome thing.
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