What do you smell like?

I have been wanting to write this particular blog for a while now but my life has gotten attacked by 'holiday mania' and I have been swamped. I am happy to have an evening at home to get these thoughts down for myself and for you.

It all began a few weeks ago when I got a whiff of Old Spice (the original), and my head and heart were immediately flooded with thoughts of my dad. He always wore Old Spice and smelled absolutely amazing. When I think of him I am almost always happy that my dad is home with the Lord and not suffering anymore, but it's moments like that one that I just want my daddy here.

It made me begin to think about how smells can trigger memories or feelings either good or bad. You know what I'm talking about, you all smell...uh...let me re-phrase that...you all experience smells :) sorry, couldn't help myself. A lot of smells are pleasant to me. I love the smell of the outdoors after a heavy rain. When I'm leaving work some days, the bakery down the street will be baking fresh bread and the smell is enough to make me drool a little. I love walking into my house and it smelling like fresh laundry and I love the smell of babies (in a non-poopie state of course). Plus there is hardly anything that could compare to the smell of a cup of freshly brewed coffee (sprinkled with great company) or a bouquet of fresh flowers that reminds you of how much you are loved every time you look at them...

Of course on the other side of the coin there are those whiffs that make you want to donate your sense of smell to a curbside charity. I recently was waiting on a customer and I wanted to write out my last will and testament because I wasn't sure I would make it through the entire transaction alive! I think I may have to invest in Lysol stock pretty soon. Lol! One day recently I encountered someone who wore so much perfume on that I literally became sick to my stomach. It was like a smelling a fragrance factory in rebellion. Then there are the smells that remind you of being sick or that stench that remains with you for days after you accidentally microwave your spaghetti and meatballs in a plastic bowl for 20 minutes instead of 2 and manage to melt it all into a congealed glob of black tar...not speaking from experience...

You get the picture, smells will trigger either great feelings or make you throw up a little in your mouth. Then I was reading my Bible and I came across these words in 2 Corinthians- "For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life..." Hmmm...it made me begin to wonder what I 'smelled' like to those around me. Am I living the kind of life that produces that pleasing aroma? Does my life in Christ cause those who are seeking Him to rejoice? Does it challenge and convict those who are not? I want my life to be that pleasing aroma of Christ above everything else, to be able to love people the way He does...regardless of what they smell like :) That's my goal. What do you smell like?