How's your smeller?

Murphy on the open road.

THE LULU CHRONICLES

LuLu, Murphy and I hit the road this morning. Murph was terribly excited. I hadn’t allowed him to go on a ride in his little basket for a while so it was a special morning for him. We just did three miles. The first mile and a half was great. Murph settled into his perch on my handlebars, LuLu, my pink bike, glided like a dream, and The Cowgirl (my buttocks) wasn’t protesting too much. Then we turned into the wind and everything got hard. I had to change gears, the Fake Knee started protesting and the Good Knee wasn’t none too happy either.

And Murphy? He got a scent of something. He stood and pranced in tiny, tight circles in his basket, started squeaking and kept his nose up in the air. All of his jerking movements made it a tad crazy to steer by the way. But I had to smile. I knew he smelled the donkey and the peacock from about three quarters of a mile away. He couldn’t wait. The aroma that was wafting in the wind toward us made his ears twitch. The musky scent filled him with anticipation. Then as we pedaled past the neighborhood menagerie, Murph sat as still as statue except for his tail and inhaled the scent and the scene before him. He was one happy puppy.

The scent. The aroma of something wonderful. The anticipation of something glorious. The sense of smell is very strong in some. You could blindfold me and allow me to smell the neck of each of my sons and I could tell you which was which. With that same blindfold on I could smell the hands of ten men and pick out the scent of the Hubs.

Did you know that Jesus has his own scent? It’s true. Listen to this: “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. – Ephesians 5:2 (ESV) As Jesus hung on the cross an incredible fragrant aroma arose permeating the entire universe.  For those with good smellers, the scent was everywhere…the very fragrance of God Himself.

I long to be like my little dog, Murphy—able to smell what’s coming in the wind; To be able to anticipate the joy coming just by the sweetness in the air. I long to be that in tune to the Spirit around me. I long not only to feel God’s Presence, but to smell Him standing next to me in the room.

I must tell you, since Gary’s diagnosis of cancer I believe I have. I have smelled God just as sure as Murphy picked up the scent of the neighborhood donkey and peacock. His scent is strong in that chemo room we sit in once a week. There isn’t a corner in the Mayo Clinic that doesn’t hold the lingering fragrance of God. I’m sure of it.

How is your smeller?  What scents are coming your way? Be alert. Take a whiff. Holiness might be standing near.

deb