I was driving home from Utah last week. The route takes me across northern Nevada on the I-80 until immediately west of Reno where I take the 395 up toward Susanville and then the 44 home. The 44 is a beautiful highway, and at one point I am driving right toward the majestic Mt. Shasta and then it turns true west and I see Mt. Lassen on my left. In fact, for much of the drive, I am in the Lassen National Forest.


It is not uncommon to see hillsides of lava rock next to the road surrounded by trees and foliage. Lassen last erupted in 1914 so I am unaware of how far the damage had actually reached. To see the area now you would never know.


Not so with Mount St. Helens in Washington. It erupted in 1980. I remember driving up to see the devastation area in the early ‘90s. Driving up the highway you would never know anything had occurred. Then—you came over a rise and everything changed on a dime.


There seemed to be a demarkation line where trees stood tall and undamaged and yet, immediately next to them lay others, broken and burned like matchsticks. Volcanic ash still covered everything and the mountain looked barren.


BUT--


As we drove through the devastation, the landscape was already changing. Grasses and flowers had already come back and we could see small trees taking root. I later learned that ants and pocket gophers survived and the fallen trees provided homes for insects and “much needed nutrients into the parched system.” In fact, plant life began returning within the first year (“35 years after Mount St. Helens eruption, nature returns). 


This world can dish out hardship and sorrow. Loss of a loved one. Loss of a pet. Loss.


Sometimes it explodes like a volcano; at other times it creeps up like rising flood water.


The saints of the Bible would put ashes on their head as a sign of humility and grief. Ashes represented desolation and ruin. Rock bottom.


But God the creator is also God the restorer. Just as we see nature return from the ashes, Isaiah 61 reminds us that God will turn the tables on sorrow as well. He will free captives and heal the brokenhearted. “He will comfort all who mourn . . ., give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning” (vs. 3).


God provides peace to weather the storm. He sends sources of joy. And He promises beauty in our future.

During April and May I have all my windows wide open. Not only does this allow refreshing breezes to flow through the house, but also the wonderful scents of spring.


In the morning, I smell the orange blossoms and in the evening the jasmine. If I venture into my backyard, the roses call me. And a walk to the mailbox blesses me with the smell of lemon blossoms.



Researches say that the sense of smell, of all our senses, is most closely linked to memory. All of us can attest to this. Cut grass reminds me of softball and track in elementary school. The scent of summer soil reminds me I am back in the valley. A certain air freshener brings back memories of a relative’s house.


Is it any wonder, then, that the sacrifices and prayers of God’s people are linked to the sweet aroma of incense. 


In the Old Testament, “The Altar of Incense was located in the Holy Place, before the veil. Here, priests would burn a combination of four precious spices and tree resins (including frankincense), every morning and evening, to coincide with the burnt offerings made at the Altar of Sacrifice. The white smoke rising from the altar symbolized the prayers of Israel ascending to God.”


David hoped his prayers would “come to You like the sweet smell of incense" (Psalm 141:2).


And in Revelation 5:8 the golden bowls full of incense “are the prayers of the saints.”


Yes, God sees our sacrifices and hears our prayers, but they are also a beautiful scent to Him as well, reminding us that God never forgets either of them. 

I bet you thought I was talking about King David. After all, those were the words used to describe him. One site suggested that David was called this because of the following ten attributes, all reflected in his psalms: humble, reverent, respectful, trusting, loving, devoted, faithful, obedient, recognition (of God), and repentant.

But David was not the only man (or woman) who faithfully followed God and demonstrated those characteristics. And these individuals are not necessarily pastors. After all, David was a shepherd, a warrior, a king. 
My father was a collegiate basketball player and then a high school coach, so he  enjoyed watching collegiate basketball on television and we would watch with him. One of the coaches who was foremost in the sport during my high school years, began his coaching career in 1948 and retired in 1975 at UCLA: John Wooden—another man after God’s own heart.
John Wooden always carried a silver cross in his pocket, given to him by a South Bend minister in 1942. In times of stress, basketball games, and speaking engagements, he would hold it in his hand.
He was a man of great faith and knew exactly the importance of basketball. He is quoted as saying: “Basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior. Until that is done, we are on an aimless course that runs in circles and goes nowhere.”
Besides his almost unparalleled success as a coach, he is also known for his Woodenisms: those pearls of wisdom that he shared with his players and his audiences. Such statements such as . . .

• “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
• “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”
• “Make each day your masterpiece.”
• “Never lie, never cheat, never steal.”
• “Nothing will work unless you do.”
• “Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
• “Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”
• “Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”
• “The best competition I have is against myself to become better.”
• “Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who’ll argue with you.”
• “Young people need models, not critics.
  

And my favorite--

Ability is a poor man’s wealth.

God has given each of us certain abilities for us to develop and use those on whatever stage we find ourselves. But He has given all of us the power of the Holy Spirit to become men and women of God.

I was doing all right. Pretty solid on the irons and hybrids, and, for the most part, consistent with my 5 fairway metal. But my driver . . . somewhere I had lost the plot, and it was going every which way but down the fairway. So I decided to take a lesson.

The lesson focused on my grip and my swing—for all my clubs. The instructions all made sense: a wider stance, a tiny grip adjustment, a check of my alignment. All the changes were to make me more consistent, have a greater swing speed, and get more distance. 

It was new, and when I did it right, it was exciting. I was ready to hit the course . . . or so I thought. 

Suddenly, without the watchful eye of my instructor, and the level lie of the driving range mat, it wasn’t so easy, and before I knew it, my game fell apart. 

I was now officially a basket case. I would stand over the ball and freeze, not knowing what I was supposed to do. I hit the highest score I had ever hit since I started golf, and after each errant shot, I thought about how I could use all the money I was spending on golf if I gave up the game right then. I was worse than when I started — or so I thought.

As Christians our lives often follow this same path. We read and learn and then try to apply it to our Christian walk, but often we don’t succeed very well, and, consequently, feel defeated. What felt easy reading about on the couch is much harder to put into practice out in the world. 

Sometimes it just seems easier to go back to our old habits, but that doesn’t quite work either, does it? Because now we know what we should be doing and neither the old nor the new feels comfortable. 

Paul felt this very dissonance: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (Romans 7:15).

It turns out I wasn’t worse. The more I went back to my instructor for reminders, and the more I practiced, the more natural the swing began to feel and the more I saw positive results.

So, too, with our Christian walk. But the big difference is that our spiritual coach is with us ALWAYS. He is right inside us, providing us with the encouragement, the reminders, and, most importantly, the power to continue and to succeed.