Several years ago, Vigen Guroian wrote a lovely book of stories titled “The Fragrance of God”.
Here is one of the stories:
“Several summers ago, my children found two turtles and put them in the vegetable garden. During a thaw the next February, as I was digging up the soggy soil where the peas go, I lifted a heavy mound with my shovel, and then another. The two turtles had burrowed down for winter sleep, and I had rudely awakened them too soon. So, I carried them to a corner of the garden where I would not disturb them and dug them in again. When my wife said that she feared the turtles might be dead, I said I did not think so (though I wasn’t as sure as I sounded). I insisted that in spring, they would come up. And they did in Easter week. Lilies and hyacinths signify the resurrection, and I can understand why. But I have a pair of turtles that plant themselves in my garden each fall like two gigantic seeds and rise on Easter with earthen crowns upon their humbled heads. With the women at the tomb, I marvel.” [i]
There are so many reasons to marvel in this life and we needn’t look far. In my windowsill, there is a lovely purple orchid that is blooming. I step out onto the back porch and smell the approaching rain, I feel the wind upon my face, and I turn my face toward the rising sun. The Essence of God is everywhere. We only need to allow the presence into our lives.
The honeybees pollinating the plants are a miracle of life. The seeds that fall to the earth and plant themselves to grow into great trees are also miracles. The waves of the ocean are a miracle. It’s all a miracle and if I will only stop and smell the sweet fragrance of a rose, rosemary plant, lavender, sweet basil, and so many other sacred essences, I will experience the sacred, the holy, the very elixir of life.
Agreeing with Guroian, “With the women at the tomb, I marvel.” JV
[i] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigen_Guroia