The Nose Knows

I flew into LAX yesterday.
Los Angeles International Airport.
It didn't even take half a second.
The moment I stepped off the plane and in the amount of time it takes for the surrounding air to be inhaled through the nose, my brain, my mind, my heart and my whole being knew one thing...
I was home!

The cacophony of aromas that assault the senses form the one delicious recipe of "home." Is it the smog? The exhaust of one million cars trying to squeeze their way through 8-10 lanes of endless miles of freeways? The burst of vegetation that covers every square inch of the finely manicured lawns? The lack of humidity? The "outdoorness" of life in the temperatures that flirt with the mid 70's in January? The golden brown hills? The stucco on the homes that dot every square inch of available land? The relentless crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean along the beautiful beaches with the familiar names like Newport, Laguna and Huntington?

How does the nose know?

I haven't lived in Southern California full time since 1981. It has been 32 years! I have lived in North Carolina for four. Virginia for three. Seven in Georgia. Seven and a half in Texas and nine and a half in Oregon. One in Iowa. (And yes, all those numbers do add up to 32!)

In each of those other states I always considered them home. But the nose knows differently. With the first breath, my body relaxes and the familiarity of places, sights, smells, memories and experiences flood the bloodstream of my soul. It's as if California was waiting for me and with my arrival they laid out the red carpet and said, "Welcome home David!"

My iWitness...

It's happened to all of us...

We wander away from "Home". We stray. We get off the beaten path to a "better" destination. Perhaps it occurred with full on rebellion. We just ran like a "bat out of hell" as fast as we could and as far as we could and we didn't look in the rearview mirror for years. Perhaps we just got distracted and now the path is no longer visible to us. Some of us have fallen and skinned our knee so severely that the idea of getting back on "that road" is the furthest thing in our mind. For some the new surroundings have taken on a nice look and we settle in for what we believe will be the way of life for years to come with memories of the "old home" neatly packed away in the scrapbook of life.

But the nose knows differently...

The nose of the heart has been imbedded with the unconditional love, mercy, grace and tender arms of God. Wherever I am, whatever I am going through there is that faint scent of our spiritual home that tickles and teases and says, "I'm still here. I haven't gone anywhere. And just like your sideview mirror says, "I am nearer than it might appear.""

I don't know where you are this day, the 24th of January 2013 but God does. Maybe you've been gone for 32 years. Maybe it has been just 32 days or 32 minutes. Whatever your circumstances might be, please hear me on this... It's not too late and you are not too far away.

 My hope and prayer is that you will take time to breathe deep and inhale fully the aroma of God's love and that you will see before you the red carpet of love and grace and acceptance and hear His indescribable and incredible voice shouting for joy, "Welcome Home!"

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate." (Luke 15. 20-24)

Let the celebration begin!!

And that's my iWitness...
Laugh often and Fear not!
David!

ps- For all of my Southern California friends I apologize that we were not able to get together on this trip. Thank you for being a part of that "cacophony" that makes SoCal home for me!!