Use Those Senses

7-26-14

Right now there is cracker crumb crusted chicken with tomatoes and red, orange, and yellow peppers baking in the oven. One of my favorite smells is baking vegetables. Roasted tomatoes are different than fresh, which are different than tomatoes in ketchup. One of the brightest greens in nature are green beans when they are just beginning to cook. They turn nearly fluorescent. Honeysuckle vines on mountain trees in mid June are a delicate golden and cream with a scent so sweet you want to close your eyes and not think about anything else for just a minute. Every cat's purr and meow is a little different. Some sound like they are a squeaky toy that is well used. Some purr in their meows as though they are asking a question. There's nothing quite like the sound of water to create a feeling of relaxation. A gentle stream softly clapping pebbles or the sound of all the water in the sea rushing onto a beach.

We are surrounded by so many amazing sights and sounds and smells that I think sometimes we become immune to them. When I look out our porch window, I am amazed that I live in one of those places where I can see tree covered mountains rising together and meeting the sky. I hope I never stop seeing it when I look out. Or hearing the frog choir on a calm, breezy summer night.

There are many names for God in the Bible. One is Creator. In seven days He made the world and everything in it. As my Sunday School class and I like to say, on the seventh day He made rest. Our Father didn't just stand back and toss some things together as though He were making a cheeseburger with the trimmings in a great hurry and hoping all the pieces landed together from the far side of the kitchen.

He blended the earnest red of geraniums. He sweetened the strawberries so that you can almost taste the sun still glowing inside if you are lucky enough to pick them and eat them immediately. He tossed salt into the air of the ocean. He gave the sun penetrating, soaking warmth. He carefully crafted us so that we could enjoy all this. I don't think this was an accident. I believe He planned for us to have rich experiences. Moments that take your breath away with sheer, simple wonder.

So stop and let your breath be taken. Stop and smell the fresh cut grass. Listen to the musical tinkle of ice in a glass. Every day we live in an art museum, attend an orchestra, and participate in food tastings. Let's be amazed by the small things. See the world with the eyes of a child; you might be surprised what you would have missed.

Psalm 139:14: "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."

May the Lord bless and keep you,

Heather