A FRAGRANCE IN THE NIGHT

 4310

Pt. 1

I have walked and pedaled at night, and well before dawn for years.

But in spite of some "strange and wonderful" experiences, and having been questioned by the police several times, I have rarely experienced a sense of fear in those nocturnal comings and goings.

Speaking of "strange and wonderful" experiences, there was a time when I pedaled past a lone woman and her dog. As I approached her, I noticed she was standing in the middle of a landscaped area of a bank, and singing the most eerie little melody you would ever hope to hear. As you might imagine, I didn't stop to "pass the time of day" (or night) with her.

And then, there was the truck momentarily parked at the stop light, and its driver pushing a woman into his open door. Without so much as a thought, I jogged towards the truck. But a couple hundred feet separated me from them, and I could not have hoped to reach "the scene of the crime" in time. While I was considering the gravity of the situation, and after he had pulled away, a deputy's vehicle sped by, blue lights flashing, and heading the same direction as the truck.

And there was the time I pulled up to a stop sign preparing to cross a four lane highway. I looked left, then right... and noticed a tall young man walking towards me on the sidewalk, perhaps 50 feet away. Now, I looked left again, and prepared to pedal across the road. However, for whatever reason, I glanced to my right one more time.

All of two seconds had elapsed. However, the young man was... gone. Did I mention that at that very moment he had been passing a gated community on his left. The concrete wall was 6-8 feet high. And to his right, a well lit street. He was nowhere to be seen. I came away from that experience convinced that I had seen an angel. (Funny thing, when I told my grandson about this experience, he said, "Nah, you just saw some guy dressed up in an angel suit!")

Pt. 2

But beyond my unusual experiences "out there," I have noticed one recurring dynamic which might be described in one of two ways:

The unusual sensitivity of the human nose when exposed to the darkness of night (and) an aromatic stimulus

(or)

The natural wherewithal of fragrances and odors to intensify themselves, as it were, in a quiet, darkened environment.

(Or perhaps both)

You see, I have been walking or pedaling at night over the course of the past ten years when suddenly a car passed by. And then, the rich fragrance of perfume permeated the air.

Or as I pedaled past a home, a front yard separating me from the porch, the putrid odor of cigarette smoke. And while I was unable to see anyone in the darkness of the night, I realized someone was there.

And for that matter, my own presence, and my impact on an inanimate object. Why, in the past week I was pedaling past one of my neighbor's homes, a full twenty feet from a pickup truck, and the vehicle alarm system begins to blare. Lights flashing, and various sound effects.

And it has occurred to me that the foregoing predilection has something to teach us; something spiritual in nature.

For I am convinced that God is closer, and that He reveals Himself to us in a kinder, sweeter. more present manner in the night seasons of our lives, and when we need Him most. And perhaps He increases our sensitivity to Him during those seasons of our lives. 

I think He does.

by Bill McDonald, PhD