Fragrance by Jeanelle Fu

“Why this waste?” (Matthew 26:8)

Every word that fell upon her in that room,

was like a debt she could never repay

The walk towards him, the one she had come for,

felt like an eternity

Her shaking hands, clutched the jar containing a year’s worth of wages, all she had

“Why this waste?”

How could they sit with this one, and not know who he was?

How could they not know, what this one was to give for them– with their heads held so high, their hearts so proud

She broke the jar at the feet of Jesus, and the fragrance of a hidden life filled the room

She lavished this love on him, washing his feet with her tears, the feet that would soon be nailed to a cross for her sins.

And what others called a waste, God called beautiful.

He took the tears of her ravaged soul,

the broken pieces of her alabastar life,

the unfettered beauty of her bottled fragrance,

to every tongue and tribe where the gospel would be preached,

as a memorial unto her.

“She has done a beautiful thing to me.” (Mark 14:6)

Inspired by Matthew 26:6-13
Jeanelle Fu is a Taiwanese-American poet and creative storyteller who resides with her husband in Los Angeles. Her writing started off as spoken word pieces at UCLA,  channeling a raw energy not unlike Jacob's midnight wrestling. Some things that have influenced her writing include being raised in a Buddhist family, her own experiences with grief, and living for one year in the Middle East. Her writing has since then been featured by The National Review, The Gospel Coalition, and translated into multiple languages.