What Does Sweet Balsam Mean, Anyway?

Well hello, and welcome to The Sweet Balsam Journal.

I have been wanting a low-pressure place to share more of the heart behind my business. The why behind the name. Why scent matters so much to me. Why I choose the fragrances I do. And how all of this connects to Scripture in a very intentional way. A blog felt like the right place for that.

I know blogging is not what it used to be. Social media and podcasts tend to get more attention these days. But old habits die hard, and I wanted a space that people could visit if they were curious or had questions. And if not, that is perfectly fine too. This space is optional. No pressure.

So let’s begin.

To kick things off, I want to start with why I chose the name Sweet Balsam.

Long before I ever felt called to start a business, I was fascinated by the phrase “sweet aroma” in the Bible. I kept noticing how often scent appeared in Scripture, especially in reference to incense and burnt offerings. God delighted in the smell. As someone who has been deeply motivated by scent my entire life, that stopped me in my tracks.

As I dug deeper and cross-referenced Scripture, I learned that the incense burned continually in the temple as a “pleasing aroma” to God was a shadow and copy of something greater. It represented the prayers of the saints. Our prayers rise up to God like incense, and they are described as a sweet aroma to Him.

So when it came time to name my business, I knew that Sweet Aroma had to be the inspiration.

But it did not feel complete on its own.

Weeks went by without finding the right name, until one morning I was reading in 2 Samuel chapter 5 verse 24:

“When you hear the sound of the rustling in the tops of the balsam trees, rouse yourself, for then the LORD will have gone ahead of you to strike down the army of the Philistines.”

The word balsam jumped off the page. I could not stop looking at it.

After some research, I learned that this word is translated as balsam, poplar, or mulberry, depending on the Bible translation you use. The original Hebrew word is “baka,” which refers to any gum-distilling tree. While mulberry sounds lovely, most historians do not believe mulberry trees were present in that region during the time of the Old Testament. Balsam felt more fitting. I wrote it down next to Sweet Aroma and sat with it for a while.

Then I came across this quote from Charles Spurgeon in my Bible commentary, and that was the moment everything locked into place for me:

“When we see the work of God happening around us, it is like the sound in the mulberry trees– the rustling sound should awaken us to prayer and devotion. A time of crisis or tragedy is also like the sound in the mulberry trees–the rustling sound should awaken us to confession and repentance. Now, what should I do? The first thing I will do is, I will bestir myself. But, how shall I do it? Why, I will go home this day, and I will wrestle in prayer more earnestly than I have been wont to do.”

That was it.

When you hear the rustling of the balsam trees, when you see God moving in your life, you rouse yourself. You make an effort. And you pray. Prayer is not the last resort. It is the first. And what is our prayer? A sweet aroma offering to God. 

Sweet Balsam became more than a name. It became a reminder.

If scent matters to God, and if He chose fragrance as a way to describe prayer, remembrance, and devotion, then the scents I create should do more than simply smell good. They should invite pause. They should help people notice when God is moving. They should gently point hearts back to prayer in the middle of ordinary life.

Every collection, every scent pairing, and every Scripture connection I create begins here. Sweet Balsam is a reminder that our prayers rise up to God like sweet-smelling incense, and that when we sense Him at work, our response is meant to be prayer.

This is the heart behind the name, and the heart behind everything I make.