Smelling God
Monday, August 29, 2016
Maria P. Meneses
“His shoots will sprout, And his beauty will be like the olive tree, And his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.” (Hosea 14:6)
A few years ago, I travelled to Florence, Italy, to embark on a pilgrimage of Prayer and Art Journaling. After travelling two hours south in Tuscany, we (14 of us) drove up a long driveway that leads to an ancient monastery dating back to the time of St. Francis of Assisi.
After settling in, I along with another pilgrim joined our artist teacher on a short walk up a little hill just past the monastery. Suddenly, a looming rain storm developed quickly in the distance. We turned back, but only got midway down the hill before we had to take cover under a huge pine tree, which in my mind seemed to tower to the heavens.
Waiting for the rain to cease, we all were grateful to be dry underneath the canopy of pine. Yet the ground around us — part sand, part dirt and part grass — was getting soaked.
Suddenly, the artist motioned for both of us to close our eyes and smell. Yes, smell! The strong smell of pine tree sap, mixed with rain, cedar wood and some wild flowers of the field emulsified the air.
“Isn’t God amazing? Doesn’t he smell good?” she asked.
I had never quite thought of God this way. In a couple of minutes, the rain passed, and as we stepped back on the road to head down the hill, there in front of us, God painted across the heavens a double rainbow.
Ever since, whenever I light a Christmas candle made of pine scent, I close my eyes and am back on that hilltop smelling God.
A while ago, I visited a patient room with two charming male residents. On this particular visit, I engaged the two men in some aroma therapy. As I rubbed a little bit of lavender oil in my hands and allowed them to smell, I asked them to keep their eyes closed and envision what heaven might be like.
I shared my view of it being like a garden. One of the men piped up and said he thought of it as a fond memory of himself in a place with a special family member. His roommate added his own memory of smelling his favorite meal.
Finally, one of them said, “Ah, to remember is to live it all over again. To be there!”
Simply by closing our eyes, we are there. Isn’t it wonderful that God made us this way, where we have five wonderful senses and by closing our eyes, we are there?
When was the last time you smelled God?
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