The news came in a text. My Dad asked for prayer. My sister, Irina, and her friend, Carissa, were supposed to return home from their kayaking trip off the coast of Peaks Island, Maine, at 4pm. It was 4:30, and they were nowhere to be seen.
My stomach dropped. Not again, Father. Please, not again. My brother Oleg had just died in a tragic accident in March of 2009. It had rocked my family. We were all just coming through it. God had been so faithful, but the grief was real and heavy and difficult.
The Coast Guard began searching immediately, trying to make the most of the daylight hours. No one talked about the water temperature although we were all thinking about it. No one talked about their chances if they were not in their boats, but in the water.
We stayed up most of the night praying. I prayed Scripture because I had no words. Our phone, internet and cable were out. The connection had been cut by the lawnmower just that afternoon. We were left to the silence of the night. We tried to sleep, yet none came. But morning did. I felt sick and numb. My heart knew what my mind could not accept. Not again, Abba. Please not again. Mercy, God. Please have mercy!
They were found at 11am. Their faces were peaceful, but they were gone. They had been separated from their boats but had stayed together until they lost consciousness. Two beautiful girls, 18 and 20, who had given their lives fully to Jesus, were now face to face with their Savior.
In the midst of shock and deep sadness, the fragrance of our faithful God was everywhere. My family clung shamelessly to the One who comforts those who mourn- the God who owes us nothing, yet gives us everything.
The scent drifted from my Dad and my precious stepmother, Gerri, at Irina’s Life Celebration service. Before our family entered into the sanctuary to speak, we prayed many things together, but this prayer stood out: “Please God, if we have to go through this pain, we know You will not waste one bit of it. Please lead people to Yourself who do not know You! And Father, please stir those who are already Your people but aren’t walking fully with You!”
We entered the service. Family and friends spoke about Irina’s life- how she had been adopted from Russia at the age of 7 with her brothers, Oleg and Nickolai. Her mother was an alcoholic, and her father took his own life. Irina had lived in more than one foster home and an orphanage. When she arrived in Georgia, she was understandably angry, hard-hearted, and rebellious. It took years of consistent love and limits for her to even begin to come out of her shell. They shared how the love finally began to break through. She came to know Jesus deeply. When Oleg died, she chose to invite God into her pain instead of pushing Him away. This choice changed everything, and began to break down the highest of her self-protecting walls.
When we invite God’s presence, it does not just touch us. The fragrance of His Presence impacts everyone around us. That was very apparent as people told of their experiences with Irina, and how her life touched theirs.
Irina softened and brightened and had a beautiful glow about her. A smile replaced her scowl. She hugged and laughed. She loved, and began to allow herself to be loved- evidence of a miraculous restoration in a life many would have said was too far gone to ever heal.
And because of the power of God’s presence – His fragrance drifting from His people who, by His grace, invited Him into their pain, trusting His purposes over their own- at least 5 people asked to receive Christ at the end of the service.
I picture the day when we will celebrate that decision with them in heaven!
My Dad, Gerri and Nikolai have been asked to walk the road to Calvary in a very real way- called to suffer as their Savior did. Somehow, they have accepted the cup God has handed them. They know they will not get through a single day without God’s grace to carry them, so they cling to Him as they walk through the grief. And as they are pressed, the fragrance of God rises, drawing all those who are ready to heed it.
The fragrance of a Holy God whose love is unfailing and mercy unfathomable floats around this little island in Maine, where so many people live in darkness, pain, and deep loneliness. He draws them with His cords of loving kindness, yearning for them to hear His call, a call whose megaphone is the suffering of His dearly loved people.
His fragrance also drifts by us – the people who are His own, precious in His sight. He is calling us to a life that is truly surrendered to Him- the life in which we were made new in Christ to live. The fragrance brings us back to that moment when we were first aware that God had set us apart as holy vessels for His purpose. We are again urged and reminded to live a life worthy of the calling we have received.
Called to allow His perfect love to really cast out fear.
Called to live lives of courage that people who do not know Him can’t possibly explain.
Called to live in a way that when we are pressed and call on His Name, the fragrance of God rises, and our lives are used powerfully to draw the lost into the safety of His loving arms.
Prayer:
Father, please stir our hearts with these words! Help us to see ways we are just floating along with “the world,” and give us the courage to live a life truly set apart for You. Settle deeply in our hearts that You truly are the only One who can satisfy, and that You do so above and beyond all we could ask or think! In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Memory Scripture:
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14
