When Baxter suspects there is food to be had, he sticks his nose in the air and sniffs. You can see him do it. His head bobs slightly up and down, while he turns it from side to side, all the time using his nose to reconnoiter the area for whiffs of available nourishment. If the aroma is strong and well-defined like salmon or tuna, he goes right to its source and sits there crying out for some. Nothing drives him away or distracts his attention from his olfactory lead. He won’t give up on the scent until he either gets a taste of it or loses it altogether. And if he loses it, he is always on the alert for another interesting smell that might hold the promise of at least a snack, if not a full meal. Cats’ noses lead them to follow enticing smells with the hopes that they may signal greater rewards for their stomachs.
God tries to sniff us out as well. He isn’t content waiting for us to find Him. God searches for us using whatever aroma our lives are giving off at the time. Maybe we are happy and carefree. Maybe we are sad and distressed. Maybe we are losing hope and despairing, or maybe we are in top form, strong, successful and energetic about whatever the moment holds for us. God can sense it all and use it to connect with us. We know this from the scriptures, especially the psalms, where every human sentiment finds its way into prayer. We don’t have to be a certain way to be with God. God takes us however we are and loves us without conditions. He is not afraid of our anger or overly impressed with our pride. He wants to share our joy, but our sorrow as well. God is not put off by our fickle human dispositions or the foibles of our personalities. God cares only about one thing—us—however we present ourselves at the moment. And He won’t stop sniffing for us, until He finds where we are.
When we approach God, we don’t need to camouflage our lives to smell pleasant and acceptable. No deodorants can mask how we are when we face God. He smells through our cover-ups. We can only offer ourselves as we are, honestly and without pretensions. This is what we have to present to God because, after all, He made us this way. God didn’t make us robots with programmed features to deal with what life delivers in a Stoic, mechanical response. God made us flesh and blood human beings who engage life on many terms at once, and who sometimes appear confused and volatile towards it all. These are the creatures God loves, and His love makes this smelly mess of genuine humanity beautiful.
Baxter gets excited when he catches the trace of an attractive aroma. He pursues it until he either finds its source or loses the scent. God is attracted to all the true smells of human nature, for they signal His points of entry into our lives. Don’t hide how you are from Him. He is too sensitive to fool Him. Let God get a whiff of our real lives, and He won’t leave us alone, but help us cope with ourselves, others and the situations we face with a touch of grace.
