I’ve spent most of my life traveling – wandering through a variety of natural, wild areas where I am responsible for managing the wildlife. Whether they be marshes, bays, wooded swamps, forests, old fields or grasslands, I never cease to be pleased by the many forms of life that are visible to the observant eye.
During these visits, I draw pleasure from the many smells that also abide there. A sweetness, richness, earthiness or delicate nature exists in the many odors, fragrances, smells and aromas that assail my appreciative nose. I find a great deal of pleasure from each new smell and tracking it to its source. I sometimes feel like the enthusiastic dog, with its keener sense of smell, that has its nose out the car window; inhaling the multitude of smells as it moves down the highway. What intriguing discoveries!
GOD’S FRAGRANCE
These pleasures awaken my understandings of FRAGRANCES – a life enriching gift!How many times have we experienced eye-closing pleasure from the many fragrances around us?
The sweet bouquets from a host of blooming wildflowers, trees and shrubs;
The smells of mowed grass or damp woods in the evening;
The muskiness of a farm barn or stable;
The sweetness of our own garden’s plants in the mid-day sun;
Clean earth in the gardener’s hands;
And even the perfumes & colognes of your sweetheart.
The list can go on and on – depending on what your passions are. Amazingly enough most of these fragrances are never forgotten! Often our memories of places are enriched by the different smells that accompanied them. Yet, how often do we recognize that the many smells, odors and bouquets that please us so, are gifts from God’s creation to us? A fragrance from God.
GRATITUDE
This understanding usually provides me with a sense of gratitude; not only for the many fragrances, but also our ability to detect them. With this comes an appreciation for a Creative God. Such moments cause me to breathe a “Thank you, Lord!”
Our appreciation of these things expressed to God is a form of prayer.Many of us seem to forget that prayer can be something that happens outside of the four walls of a church building or our private room. I believe that when we experience a gift from God, such spontaneous prayer is also a perfume and fragrance that rises to and is pleasing to our God. So it seems that this “Fragrance of God” can be both received by us and be given back to God in prayer.
CARRYING IT FORWARD
This thought can be carried further when our appreciation is carried forward to “action” by each of us. This “action” is also a “giving back;” especially if it is done out of care or concern about the natural things that create these fragrances for us. Such care also reflects our love not only for those fragrant things, but also for their Creator. The many things that give us pleasure all too often need our intervention and protection if they are to survive. Striving to protect these natural gifts can be a pleasing fragrance to God; which in turn ensures that God’s pleasing fragrances to us will continue for others to enjoy, long after we are gone! The question is do we care enough to not only enjoy God’s Fragrance, but also to return it in appreciative prayer and action when that moment arrives?
