Blossom or burn?

I don't know where all of my readers reside, but I am located in Southern Ontario. For us, it has taken a while to warm up, but finally, we're seeing signs of spring.

On my walk this morning, I noted that one tree had blossomed and was already losing its petals. What a sad thing to see. We just started spring. It made me think of the scripture verse, "Human life is like grass. We grow like a flower in the field. After the wind blows, the flower is gone. There is no sign of where it was." (Psalm 103:15-16, ICB)

On my walk back, I was hit with a wall of fragrance drifting from that very tree, even though I was still 12-15 meters away from it. This reminded me of the fragrance of Christ that is meant to waft from every Christian. But being reminded of the flower withering away so quickly and thinking if my life is to be a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1), that fragrance won't last very long, like a flower.

However, I remembered that a sacrifice could be a burnt offering, and that triggered memories of how intense smoke can be when there is a fire around.

So I want to be that. I want my life to be fragrant for Christ, but let it linger and permeate the air, maybe even sting the eyes a bit, like smoke does from a powerful fire.

"Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing." (2 Corinthians 2:15, NLT)

P. S. If you're reading this, I'd love to know who you are and where you're from. Tell me in the comments.