Like a Fine French Wine
“And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’”
Presently, I am reading an interesting book by Sylvia Beach, titled Shakespeare and Company, which tells the story of her dynamic bookstore. Sylvia Beach was an American who owned a bookstore in Paris, France, from the 1920s through the Nazi occupation. Beach’s bookstore brought together some of the finest writers of the early 20th century. As they visited her bookstore, they got acquainted. Writers, from Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald, D.H. Lawrence, James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, and Gertrude Stein, to name a few, came to challenge and support one another.
Sylvia Beach described a conversation with Justin O’Brien commenting on Valery Larbaud’s writing. O’Brien says “His [Larbaud’s] bouquet” reminded him of certain French wines. By describing Larbaud’s writing as a bouquet, O’Brien noted that Larbaud's writing style was diverse yet possessed a recognizable fragrance that was easy to embrace and appreciate. O’Brien’s description of the “bouquet” got me thinking about how many people write their own inspiring stories that read like complex bouquets.
A fine wine’s bouquet is subtle, complex, and layered. When a person is intentional in writing their story, inviting God to guide the plot, a complex bouquet develops over time, like fine wine. First, name who you are. If you are a person of faith, make all your values, decisions, and actions guided and directed by our Triune God. There are several kinds of fine French wine, from Beaujolais, Bordeaux, and Burgundy, to Champagne, to name a few. Likewise, there are various kinds of people; let the foundation of who you are define your personal bouquet.
Once you’ve decided to embrace the name of our Triune God and the inner communion wine of our Lord, all who experience you will know the kind of person you are. Next, you add to the bouquet by incorporating your personality, talents, choices, and compassionate care. Every aspect of your life adds to the bouquet that is you. If you nurture your humble faithfulness to God, your inner bouquet will not go sour but improve with age. Others will recognize you and trust you to respond to life’s joys and struggles with hope, trust, and faithful belief. Like Valery Larbaud, others recognize our best selves through our words and actions because our personality bouquet is founded on God.
