The fields around Tulare are vibrant with new growth. Rain and cooler weather have helped things along. So too have the nutrients put into the dirt through modern fertilizers. There are fancy chemicals and sprayers that get the job done today, yet not so long ago most farmers relied on the spreading of manure by hand. It stunk but it worked. Plants grew, producing plenty of goods for the supermarket and our fridges. Sometimes the smelly, hard parts of life inevitably bless others down the road.

There are many smelly parts in the book of Genesis. Focus your attention on almost any story and you will stumble upon some sort of stench. Joseph, for example, is sold into slavery by his brothers, spends time in prison, helps out a few of Pharaoh’s men, is forgotten, and then spends even more time locked away. Life can stink. Our attitudes do not have to.

When Joseph is finally released from prison, like a good underdog movie, he is made second in command of all of Egypt. Fantastic political power is now at his disposal. Joseph can determine the fate of nearly anyone in the land. So when the very brothers who sold him into slavery appear looking for a handout, Joseph can do as he pleases. He can stink up the joint with vengeance, or he can sweeten everything with the pleasant fragrance of forgiveness. The choice is his.

Fortunately for the brothers, Joseph chooses forgiveness, though not without putting them through a few minor trials. A long awaited family reunion unfolds in Egypt, and Joseph sends for his father, Jacob. Slowly, Jacob plods out of the land of Canaan, journeying down to the lower delta where the Nile meets the Mediterranean Sea. There lies a lush land, vibrant like the fields around Tulare during the rainy season, a perfect place to live during the hardships of drought. God’s covenant with Abraham is being fulfilled, regardless of humanity’s fallen state.

When Jacob arrives, an interesting exchange takes place between him and Pharaoh, whom Joseph serves. Scripture tells us:

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have joined you here, choose any place in the entire land of Egypt for them to live. Give them the best land of Egypt. Let them live in the region of Goshen. And if any of them have special skills, put them in charge of my livestock, too.”

Then Joseph brought in his father, Jacob, and presented him to Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

“How old are you?” Pharaoh asked him.

Jacob replied, “I have traveled this earth for 130 hard years. But my life has been short compared to the lives of my ancestors.”

Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before leaving his court.

Jacob must have looked his age, because Pharaoh asks, “How old are you?” The first part of Jacob’s response is especially telling. “I have traveled this earth for 130 hard years.” Like Joseph, Jacob has endured a rough life. Unlike Joseph, however, Jacob finds himself in a position of dependency. He holds no political power. His temptation is not vengeance against others, but despair, a foul, tomb filled scent that could harm himself.

Instead, Jacob chooses to be a life giving fragrance. He blesses Pharaoh not once, but twice.

If you find yourself planted amidst manure, you do not have to smell like it. You can draw nutrients from even the stinkiest parts of life and still flower with forgiveness and blessing. You need only trust the God who “causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose” Romans 8:28.

You cannot choose how others will smell, but you can choose your own scent. May God’s love overcome life when it stinks.