Have you ever gotten a whiff of a certain aroma and memories came flooding back into your mind? Its truly amazing how different smells evoke memories of a specific person, place or time in your life. For example, whenever I walk past a tobacco shop and catch the smell fresh pipe tobacco an image forms in my mind of my grandpa sitting at his desk by the window of his upstairs apartment on main street working on his stamp collection. On a little table in the corner of the living room his pipe is nestled on its little stand next to a wooden humidor filled with fresh tobacco. As I look around the room in my mind I see the collection of salt and pepper shakers my grandma kept in a black curio cabinet next to the wall. And, best of all, there’s my grandma sitting in her rocking chair gazing out the window with a slight smile on her sunlit face. There’s a dainty hanky that she always held in her left hand and a porcelain cup half filled with percolated coffee  and milk sitting on the sill.  Which, of course, reminds me of the wonderful aroma of coffee. Few things smell as good to me as fresh ground beans and coffee brewing in the morning. 

I think its pretty amazing how God wired us to have an aroma remind us of something significant. Interesting enough that Paul wrote about it in 2 Corinthians 2:15. He said, “For we (followers of Jesus) are to God the aroma of Christ.” Sounded a little weird to me a first. What? We smell like Jesus? I think what Paul was trying to get at is that when we act like Jesus, it makes God take a deep breath and say “Ahhh…now that’s good!” 

Java Tip 
Be sure to take time to smell your coffee! Did you know that one major coffee chain reintroduced the practice of grinding their whole beans on site instead of using their own pre-ground beans because they noticed a decline in coffee purchase? Experts they had employed to do some research on the matter concluded that the aroma from the grinding contributed to the aroma of the entire shop which evoked a good feeling and hence to more coffee purchases.  Ahhh…smell the coffee!


Got any smells that bring back great memories? Leave a comment and let me know!
 


Comments

Dave Depew

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:55:42

My dad was a sewing machine repairman for many years. I remember when I was a young boy and my dad would come home from work, he would pick me up, twirl me around, say "Hey Tiger" and I would always burrow my head into his chest to get a whiff of the unique smell of a combination of sewing machine oil, fabric and the repair shop. There have been times when I was in a place where that smell has been present and I was right back there in my dad's strong arms being whirled around feeling the security of that moment all over again.

 



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    Bruce Porter


    Imaginating is the art of imagining what could be and using whatever resources available to you to create something beautiful, amazing, and beneficial to others.  I have this strong belief that being "created in the likeness and image of God" is really about our unique ability to create like The Creator - to simply think of something that doesn't exist and make it happen. Its a gift I believe everyone possesses. How much we use it is up to us. It is the big WOW - the AHA of life - that we can ponder what could be and do something about it. Whether it be in the arts, restoring relationships, righting an injustice, or creating pleasing environments, I believe we are destined to imagine what part we can play in imagining and creating whatever, to inspire, help, and enrich the lives of others for the common good. 

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