I was running around in my jammies on Saturday morning, trying to button up my Sunday School lesson for tomorrow. Finally finished, I headed toward the computer room to print out the story, when all of a sudden I smelled my favorite perfume. I walked on, smelled the collar of my bathrobe, but there was no fragrance there. After passing the scent several times in my travels between my prayer room and the computer room, I backtracked and found my jeans jacket hanging on the back of my sewing chair. I sniffed at the collar of the jacket, and there it was. Some of my perfume must have rubbed off on the collar the last time I wore that jacket.
I smiled and started to walk away. But then Daddy said “wait”.
I knew he was speaking. Something about stopping to smell the fragrance, and I knew he wanted me to stop what I was doing, still in my jammies and now it’s nearly noon, and write about what he was saying to me.
The day before, while I was doing my routine early morning walk before work Daddy had reminded me of a time many years ago when I was traveling home from a conference in the Chicago area. A 20 hour bus trip home. I was quite discouraged at the time, had just broken up, or rather was dumped, by a boyfriend, and had the awful experience of running into him at this conference. I just wanted to run and hide. But I made it thru the conference and got on the bus to return home, alone.
Only I wasn’t alone. I had this strange awareness of a presence over me, like a cloud over my head. You know the kind of sensation you feel when you’re with people in a room, even tho your eyes are closed, you can still sense that someone is next to you? It was so intense that I kept looking up, only seeing the ceiling of the bus, because I felt like something was actually hovering over me. As the hours passed by I realized that it was God’s presence I was feeling. He knew I needed his physical presence, God with skin on, to carry me thru that discouraging time.
For 20 hours he hovered over me. When I got home, the sensation slowly dissipated until I couldn’t feel him anymore. But I was so thankful that he had done that for me.
So as I walked yesterday, Daddy reminded me of that amazing intimate bus trip. Then he said, “that’s the norm. I’m always there, right above you, beneath you, all around you. Look for me.”
And I had to get ready for work so I’d never journaled about what he’d showed me. Until this morning – well it’s nearly noon now – when he blew on the fragrance of my perfume on the collar of my jeans jacket and said “stop and recognize the fragrance of my presence.”
So pause with me, ok? Maybe you’re still in your jammies, too:) Hold up your hand and count off on your five fingers as you recite Hebrews 13:5,
I will never leave you.
I will NEVER leave you.
Once more, I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU.
Enjoy the rest of your day!
