Unexpected Invitation; The Power of the Nose; and An Unforgettable Fragrance

Stepping out of my little black thing and unfolding to my full height of 5'6", a wisp of newness gently swirls around my being.  It leaves as fast as it arrived.  

Ignoring this brief encounter, I return to gathering my supplies from the trunk for my sweet friend's birthday celebration. 

It comes again. 

Pausing for a moment, I feel the warmth of it's arrival.  Inhaling deeply, I smell a faintly familiar aroma.  My mind quickly scans through the rolodex of familiar scents looking for memories that align and tell me what is happening. Unsure that it is what I think it is,  I return to gathering my things.  This current season has been relentlessly cold, wet, gray and lingering. I have my doubts that Mr. Winter will ever leave this place I call home.

Like a long-time friend however, it will not be ignored. It has arrived and is ushering out Mr. Winter.  Slowly sauntering across the driveway, it

unexpectedly comes again. It playfully encases me in a warm, wonderful tornado of deliciousful scents. Warm rain; damp earth; and freshly mowed grass are part of this wonderful, swirling mix of aromas invading my nose.     Dancing an enticing tango, it invites me to join in the celebration of it's arrival.

Sun is warming the driveway and highlighting the perfect dance floor. It is an invitation

that only comes once a year. Looking around, there is no one else physically present. Accepting the invitation, I step into the sunlit space. Like a newly hatched Monarch butterfly, I clumsily twirl across the driveway. I swirl  in a tango-like display with the invisible "Ms. Spring".  Her scents have reached my olfactory glands and invited me to "remember" her looks and the gifts that she will bring.

As humans, we have been  equipped by our Creator with amazing senses to help us connect to the world around us.  Our sense of smell is most closely linked with memory.  This is due to the fact that the olfactory bulb, which starts inside the nose and runs along the bottom of the rain and has two direct connections (the amygdala and hippocampus)to the areas of the brain that handle emotion and memories. None of the other senses pass through these brain areas.  As I inhaled these Spring scents, my brain told me to look around for other evidence that Spring was arriving.  I had memories of other Springs.

Every life has an aroma.  Have you ever stopped to ponder what the aroma of your life is?  After you leave a conversation, what are people left with?  When they think of you, what fragrance do your words leave?    Does the fragrance of Jesus linger when you walk away?  I want the fragrance of my life to be one that leaves an aroma of His sweet unmistakable presence.  I long to extend the scent of His mercy, grace, and forgiveness to those that are hurting.   Like Spring swirled and twirled and invited me to join her, will you join me in pursuing Christ so we can leave His fragrance all over this planet?

Until We Chat Again,
The Plank-Eyed Girl

2 Corinthians 2:15 (AMP)

For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ (which ascends) to God, (discernable both) among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.