Taste and See

The sweet smell overwhelms me, stopping me in my tracks.

I close my eyes for a moment. I breathe it in. I breathe it in deep. A long, intoxicating, full-body inhale. One of those breaths so deep you can feel the peace and calm overcome you, almost transporting you somewhere else.

A serene smile stretches across my face. A warmness seems to soak into every pore of my body. And the smell. The smell lingers beautifully in the air. I realize I don’t want this moment to end.

It’s breathtaking. And it’s beautiful. It’s a glimmer of what I imagine heaven will be like.

Psalm 34:8 poetically states, “O taste and see that the LORD is good.”

Taste and see.

It’s been years since that experience, since that encounter and yet those three simple words immediately bring me back to that moment. I’m brought back to see–to see the grandiose magnolia tree. Its tall stature. Its full, lush, green foliage. Its gigantic, white, perfectly-round sculpted buds. And I’m brought back to taste–to taste its sweet, intoxicating fragrance that fills my nostrils, my lungs, my entire being.

Oh, I have tasted. Oh, I have seen. The LORD is good and the beauty of His creation is the undeniable, tangible proof.

God of creation, may we awake today with fresh eyes to see your beauty and your greatness. May we awake with a spirit open to take in, to taste, and to experience your goodness and your presence. May we slow ourselves so that we may properly revel in the wondrous glory of your creation.

Pieces of Jessika©