Coming up roses
"As for man (and woman, too!), his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth." (Psalm 103:15)
I remember as a kid stopping to smell some mini-roses and my astonishment at their lack of fragrance. That's the crowning achievement of a flower I think: The fragrance. Magnolias with their mellow, buttery aroma. Lilacs and their fragile, cloying perfume. When I was a kid, my neighbors across the street had a Daphne shrub that bloomed little purple-white flowers in the Spring—to this day my favorite smelling flower. I also enjoy taking lavender berries and rubbing them between my thumb and forefinger just to get a jolt of their unique and pleasantly acrid fragrance. Full-sized roses are a favorite. The best way I can describe their fragrance is "sweet tea". Turns out there's a breed of rose with that name. I guess I wasn't too far off. The word "floribunda" refers to rose breeds with large blooms clustered together.
"For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish." (2 Corinthians 2:15) "Savour", i.e. smell.
See, we remind God of His Son. Jesus is spoken of in Solomon's Song (2:1) as "the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys". When God looks at the believer, regardless of what we think, He sees beauty, He smells it like a flower. Early on in the Old Testament, God literally took in the smell of the sacrifices and it pleased Him. I think the more that we spend time in His presence through whatever interaction we choose, the more we give off that aroma that is pleasing to God.
Anosmia is the medical term for loss of smell. I think we would definitely notice it were we to lose our olfactory sense. The ability to distinguish the types of food in your mouth comes from smell. Odd as that might seem, just pinch your nose with a bite of food and try and determine what you're eating. Your taste buds only deal with the four base tastes (salty, sweet, bitter, sour). We rely, I think, more on our sense of smell than we know. So stop and smell the roses before they're gone.
Pushing up daisies
"For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more." (Psalm 103:16)
The truth is, we're only here for a relatively short period of time. It behooves us to do our best to stand out to God in every way we can. Think about your sense of smell. Your olfactory bulb--that which you use to smell, other than your nose of course--is located between your eyes and set back an inch in your head. If you're able (and not anosmic) take some time and focus on what you smell. Share it with God. Let Him smell the unique fragrance that you bring to His life. He created you to take you in in your entirety.
"And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed:" (Genesis 27:27)