pine trees and sewage.

Today in the US it was black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Which not only means that the masses come filtering out of the wood works to get a hot deal on the newest (and greatest ever) Ipod who knows what edition (subliminally, red is the new black), but it also means that the radio stations start playing Christmas music, on every channel. Well, I was here, in the Baja where there were no special post holiday deals, In fact I came to the conclusion that they have it backwards as I handed over 150 pesos (around 10 bucks) for a 10lb bag of potatoes. Ouch. Oh well, tis life I guess, you need, you wait in line for hours, you mace the people in front of you at wal-mart to get ahead so you can be the one to have the last x-box, and you pay 10 bucks for potatoes cause otherwise there won't be any for dinner.

But back to the Christmas music. I heard it in the car and thought to myself, how can it be? It's sunny, the air is warm, I have sunglasses on! How is it almost time for hot apple cider by the fireplace and wool stockings filled with sugar plum fantasies? And then I smelled it. Home. I was already floating around in a sort of euphoric dream state (although it could have very well been the fact that my blood sugar was dangerously low from a lack of sustenance and my caffeine level was spiked well above what is normally recommended...) But in the midst of euphoria, in the middle of Ensenada as we whizzed past a grocery store, I caught a whiff of Oregon. It was beautiful. For a moment I thought the Lord had come to take us home, for a second I thought the heavens had opened and the angels were singing. But then I came back to and realized it was just the carols on the radio and a teeny tiny area of the parking lot full of pine trees (from Oregon I reckon). As we slowed to a stop light I had a compelling urge to jump from the (still moving) vehicle, do a double tuck and roll (cause if you're gonna jump you gotta do it right) and dart into the mini forest of concrete soil and rootless pines to curl up underneath one, just so I could smell the scent of home a little bit longer.

But I didn't jump, I'm not that unhinged. Although a minute later I thought to myself, "you should have" when the lingering pine in my nostrils turned forcibly into the aroma of raw sewage. At that moment I was back. In Mexico. Home in Mexico. And all I could do was smile. It's oddly exhilarating when you recognize that your heart is in multiple places. What you once found painfully difficult is now effortless, and without limits. When you see that what the Lord does IS good, and nothing He does is to cause harm or pain. We do those things to ourselves when we struggle against His will. But when you let go you'll see. You'll see that you can savor and touch, that you can accept and acknowledge, that you can be free to love completely. That the smell of raw sewage might only be a few steps away from the scent of home that you so long for.

God is good friends. Always and forever and ever and ever, He is good.