Well, this stinks!

 
Perfume

Do you ever wonder why people say “This stinks” when something bad happens? We never say “this smells good,” when something good happens, (unless it involves bacon.) 😉 Our sense of smell is the one most connected to memories.  We can be anywhere and even after decades, a smell will trigger a memory. I always have warm feelings when I smell cherry pipe tobacco. I can’t remember why, but I smile when I smell it. Did you know that people inhale deeper when smelling something they find pleasant? (Especially when it involves bacon) 🙂

One day I was at my friend’s farm and they were demolishing an old trailer filled with junk. The tractor ripped into this old trailer and broke open the freezer. Oh my, there are some smells that can be so horrible, the smell of decay and rotting meat is one of them. I was standing a good 100 feet away, but the breeze carried the smell over and I couldn’t run from it. Then, thankfully, a minute later the tractor must have smashed a bottle of bleach. I have never loved the smell of bleach as much as I did at that moment. It covered the smell of rotting meat.

One of the things my boys and I talk about while watching zombie movies is how terrible the unending smell of death and decay would be. (note to self, stock up on perfume for the future zombie apocalypse… just kidding.)

To be surrounded by bodies that are decomposing must be one of the worse work conditions for the first responder’s in the event of massive casualties, like an earthquake that leaves thousands dead.

But it’s not only the dead that stinks. Let’s get real, people stink. . . wet dogs do too, and teenage boys, to name a few. Thankfully mankind has created a multi-billion dollar industry to solve that problem. Perfume. Deodorant! Soap! As a mom to teen boys— thank goodness for body spray.

I run an in home daycare. Toddlers are wonderful little humans who are clueless when they stink. They can go about their day (and their business,) not caring that everyone around them is holding their nose.

We are like toddlers when it comes to sin. We are clueless how offensive we are. Everyone around us knows when we are being jerks. When we are hurtful or hateful, we stink.  The Bible states that our self-righteousness is like filthy rags to God. We cannot clean ourselves or create a perfume that would please God. Thank God that he made a way to cover our stink. Jesus. It is through Jesus that we are made right with God. We smell good! Smelling good to God is the best thing ever.

Natalie

via Daily Prompt: Perfume