Fragrances

I have been an avid user of aftershave or men’s cologne since I was in junior high school.  Truth be known, I started shaving when I was twelve years old and in 7^th grade.  With my 100% Italian heritage, I really never had a chance!  You wouldn’t know it now, but when I was younger, I had thick, wavy, black hair… and lots of it!  I recently heard from one of Piper’s cousins, that Piper had confided in her while in high school, that she was working on getting a tall, dark (Oh Yes... & handsome) Italian as her boyfriend… and I guess it worked!  That girl definitely had a way with prayer!

I started out using Old Spice because it was what my Dad always used, but by the time I got into high school I began to try out other fragrances as well.  When Piper and I started dating, I noticed that her Dad also used Old Spice.  Back then, I was driving my family’s 1951 Chevy and since Piper’s folks had a 1969 Camaro SS 396 and a 1965 Mustang in their carport… well… we tended to drive one of their cars, if one was available.  The problem though, was that every time we got into her Dad’s Mustang, it reeked of Old Spice!

Now, I may not have been the sharpest nail in the box, but I sure didn’t want Piper thinking of her Dad when she was with me… so I immediately dumped my Old Spice and switched over to the standard of the younger crowd at that time… Jade East!  We also quickly figured out that although her parent’s cars were fun to drive, that they had one glaring problem for us… Yep!  You guessed it… those bucket seats and the console in-between… while the 51 Chevy had the long bench seat!  That bench seat made it a lot more comfortable to hold my honey tight and not from a distance!

I’ve been wearing a silver dog-tag type medallion around my neck for about three years now with Piper’s name on it.  It is a constant reminder for me of her love and the extreme closeness that we enjoyed together.  And every morning as I splash on a little aftershave, I smile when I put a pat on my chest where the medallion sits thinking that this will help her to remember me as well!

Today just happens to be the TWO-YEAR ANNIVERSARY of Piper’s homegoing.  And as I was reading in the Scriptures this morning from Psalms 23, I couldn’t help but think about where I'd be today, and what would have happened if we had not followed what we believed to be the path that the Lord had told us to take, when we received that first negative report from the initial brain scan that she had taken out here in Oklahoma back in 2007.

From his heart, the Psalmist wrote of the Lord, declaring that, “He offers a resting place for me in his luxurious love. His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss.  (&) That’s where he restores and revives my life…”

The thought that immediately popped out to me when I read this today, was the point that it is as we follow HIS TRACTS, and not someone else’s, that we will be led to the “oasis of peace” and “the quiet brook of bliss” that HE has personally hand-crafted in order to give us the unique and particular peace and bliss that we need right then and there in our lives!  And as you most likely know and/or can figure out from your own personal experiences, we had PLENTY of opportunities to follow other people’s opinions of what THEY THOUGHT was best for us!

It occurred to me as I meditated on this scripture this morning, that if we had followed people’s advice instead of God’s clear directions, that if anything, we would have been serving to yield to the difficulties that THEY were facing in dealing with the seemingly dire needs of our situation and in essence, helping to give THEM a sense of peace from THEIR fears.

I was also reminded of Romans 8:5 where the Apostle Paul unequivocally stated that, “Those who are motivated by the flesh only pursue what benefits themselves…”  Now, I know that this may sound harsh, but similar to our President’s “America First” platform, I quickly came to set forth a “Piper First” platform as the horrific tricks of the devil became more and more visible around us when it came to Piper’s health.  I learned the hard way that the enemy of our souls will use ANYONE and/or ANYTHING that is available to him to get at us, in order to steal our faith in God and His Word!

I can only imagine where I would be and the condition that I would be in if we had followed the disinformation of the enemy back then.  Most likely I’d still be in California, be living in some old apartment located in a bad, but somewhat affordable to my meager budget neighborhood and find myself being both totally broke and totally broken in spirit, soul and body.  Once again, that may sound harsh, but it was exactly what some people were predicting over us when we didn’t follow their advice!

But instead, I look back today and see how blessing after blessing went before us almost everywhere we went and in every tough situation we faced! (See: Psalm 40:4)  Sometimes I can only shake my head in wonder as I recall how our unyielding trust in God and the accompanying LACK of FEAR that surrounded us and emanated from us was commented on by complete strangers that we encountered all along the way in Oklahoma, California and North Carolina.

Like the aftershave I wear, both 2 Corinthians 2:14 and Psalm 23:5 speak of the fragrance that surrounds those who intimately know Christ, and I am reminded of the nice things people said to us in the various places we went.  The wonderful women in the Doctor’s office in San Francisco kind of sums it all up when she stopped me as I got up in the waiting room to bring Piper into the examination room when they called her name.  

The lady looked me in the eyes with a big smile and said loud enough for everyone in that crowded waiting room to hear, “Your wife has a very sweet Spirit about her!”  When I pondered that experience this morning, I realized that that lady, and the other’s in that room, not only SAW and felt the Spirit in Piper, but mostly likely SMELLED the sweet fragrance of the Holy Spirit as well!

That my dear readers is the effect that you and I bring into the world of our family's, our neighborhoods, our jobs, the stores we frequent and every other place we go when we make the persistent choice to follow HIS TRACTS for US and not those given by someone else.  And although my heart still aches from the absence of Piper in my life, I am reassured, at peace and even JOYFILLED when I think about the PATH we followed and how it led her to her glorious, eternal home with Jesus in heaven!  And when you think about it… God also made sure that I am doing good as well!

What fragrance emanates from you?