A Breath of Fresh Air

I got my oil changed today (every 3 months or 3000 miles). So while I'm waiting to pay I start looking around at all the automotive impulse items at the register. There were little rubber do-hickeys to put on your keys so you could tell your house key from your car key. There were foam smiley face balls to stick on your antenna. There were cup holders that could support the girth of 64 ounces of your favorite beverage. And then I saw it ... a pile of Jesus air fresheners displayed beneath a 12 inch pre-lit Christmas tree. But these weren't ANY Jesus air fresheners - they had been blessed by an official Catholic priest. It said so right there on the packaging. I have to apologize for the image I used for this blog; it isn't like the air fresheners I encountered. Oh no, the ones I saw looked more like intricate ivory carvings. And there wasn't just one Jesus air freshener; there were three variations -- a somber bust of Christ, a depiction of the nativity, and the crucifixion. I mean as air fresheners go they were pretty impressive. But that's not all. Not by a long shot. There were different scents too. There was strawberry, pine, rose and lavender. I didn't get a chance to sample to aromas because there was no scratch n' sniff sticker on the front. I'm sure they smelled delightful. I think I mentioned they had also been blessed by an official Catholic priest. I don't know what that means to those of us who are Protestant, but I'm sure we're covered or grandfathered in somehow. So I guess that's all I wanted to say. I don't have any great insight to offer ... just that Jesus is a breath of fresh air when and where you were least expecting it.

Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I'll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. - Philippians 12:14-16 (The Message)