Releasing Incense

Walking to work I suddenly got this amazing smell of breakfast.  You know the type...eggs, bacon, hash-browns...maybe a side of pancakes...is your mouth watering yet?  The smell made me happy...awake...alive at 8:30 a.m. on a mid-week morning just after I had been dozing off on the commute.  The odd thing was I was on the subway platform...not sure where this amazing smell was coming from, really.

I think there are things about these simple pleasures that can point us to joy, peace, love...our Creator...am I over spiritualizing this? Not a chance.  I am a spiritual being responding to a love gesture from my spiritual Papa!  I am blessed to have not missed the gift.

Something seemingly simple, like a yummy breakfast, can either just be that...or it can take on a whole new meaning, pointing me to that which will fill me up:

1. Be grateful...see what he's provided for you.  If you take the time to look at the things you have, you'll see that God not only provides what you need but also what you love...he cares about all of that.  Notice he didn't give me the smell of porridge or toast?  It was a breakfast for a Queen!

2.  Remember him...be mindful of him when you smell his incense.  Did I just say God smells like fried potatoes?  Well, this morning it was :)  It could be the beautiful smell of lilacs or bacon and eggs.  Either way, it gets my attention, makes me smile and points me to him.

3.  He knows you...he knew at that moment on that day that this smell would speak to me.  I mean, I'm reflecting on it, I'm writing about it and I look forward to the next time I smell it.  It will likely become "our thing".  When I walk into a greasy-spoon diner, I will think of this day....I will carry him with me and know he's speaking.  When I sit down for my next delicious breakfast, I will remember that he sees me...right now...he's winking at me from across the table.  Dig in, my dear!

Do we tend to over complicate things in our lives?  Thinking, if God's going to speak to me, won't it be in some miraculous, burning bush moment?  Well, maybe...after all, I've never smelled bacon and eggs on the subway platform before, but God is speaking to you, trying to get your attention all the time...have you opened your eyes? ...your nostrils?

You don't have to wait to enter into praise and worship...right here and right now is just perfect with whatever the gift may be!  If it's good, then it's from him (James 1:17). And you don't have to look long or even that hard to see his fingerprints all over your life....no matter who you are, where you live or what your circumstances.  He's whispering to you...he's releasing his incense....can you smell it?  Careful, it might make you hungry...but he'll fill you up (Matthew 4:4)...

(see pictures at http://pinterest.com/pin/98938523036463761/ and  http://pinterest.com/pin/98938523036463760/)