Smells and Sounds

by Macy Johnson

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.”

(2 Corinthians 2:14 NIV)

My husband, Jeff, delivered a basket of home-grown tomatoes to Madison’s Senior Center. The director told him she opened the front door to the center that morning and smelled something burning. The acrid aroma drew her to the kitchen where a freezer plug had shorted. That faint smell, sensed in the nick of time, assuredly saved the building from a disastrous fire.

God created us with the senses of smell and hearing to help us be more aware of our surroundings.

“Memory Smells” are recollections of scents that evoke particular memories, transporting us back to a forgotten place and time.

Smells I like to recall are:

-      bleach in my grandmother’s sparkling-clean bathroom

-      my mother’s favorite perfume, Chanel #5

-      halls and walls of my elementary school

-      salty waters and steamy sands of the Gulf of Mexico

Remembered sounds trigger happy thoughts, such as:

-      melodious wind chimes playfully swinging in the courtyard

-      pitter-patter of tiny feet on hardwood floors

-      whirrs of hummingbird wings

-      creaks of the back door of my childhood home slamming shut

Jesus leads us in a victory procession on earth to entice others to follow Him. Our presence, our fragrance, our voice escorts those around us into God’s presence. They may think they are with you or me, but they actually experience Christ. Just think - we might be the only earthly beings who reflect Jesus clearly to them today.

I thank God for smells and sounds, past and present, created to alert danger and generate snippets of joy into life.

I boldly march in the eternal procession of Christ to lead others to Him today. I hope you will, too!