His Essence

My very dear friend, Becca Doyle, is a missionary living in Taiwan. Becca and I share many interests, one being teas. We enjoy the company of one another whenever she can be home in the states. On her most recent visit, last summer, she gave me a beautiful hand made necklace from the ladies in Taiwan. It is made of a black cord with tan and clay brown twists spaced apart. The base is mostly clay brown cord. Hanging from the cord is a tiny clay pot with a cork at the top. On the sides of this pot are beautiful pink flowers hand-carved of the layers of dried clay.

Becca explained to me that the tiny clay pot is used to hold fragrant oils in order for a lady to dab on perfume as needed. I treasure this necklace from my friend Becca, not only because it is from her but also because of what it means to me.

When I wear this necklace, I am reminded that we can be beautiful on the outside but how do we "smell" inside or are we simply empty inside. If we fill ourselves with the fragrance of Jesus, then we can "dab" some of Him on so that others will catch a whiff of His scent.

In 1 Peter 3:4 it says to be beautiful inside, with an unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is of great worth in God's sight. When we continue returning to His Word for guidance, we will have His essence for others to experience. I love the Proverbs 31 woman also. My favorite part of that passage is, "she laughs at the days to come." She does not let the worries and cares of today or tomorrow wear at her heart. She knows that Jesus will be alongside her each and every step that she takes. Because she can "laugh at the days to come", we are most certain that she fills her "little clay pot" with the Essence of Jesus "as needed" (which for most of us is often). Be beautiful with the fragrance of Jesus.