Buzzard   breath

There he was—a big ole black buzzard sitting on a tree limb about 30 feet from the front room. Jim had just waked from an afternoon nap and looked out the window and saw it.

At first we couldn’t figure out what brought a buzzard so close to the house. Started to make us a little nervous. We were pretty sure we were still alive though.

Then we figured it out when it flew down and started walking around close to a certain plant.

That certain plant sometimes called a Stink Lily or Dragon Arum was in full bloom and smelled like something dead. In fact, I couldn’t get near it without almost vomiting it smelled so bad.

Luckily though this nasty smell of dead rotting meat lasts only for a day or two and is used to attract flies and other insects for pollination.

I guess the smell is pretty real though when it can even fool a buzzard.

Even though the smell is so bad, it is a beautiful three-foot tall plant with sturdy snake-skin patterned stalks topped with two huge green antler-like leaves.

The gorgeous 18-inch flower has been described as a fleshy purple ruffled vase with an upside-down purple-black carrot in the middle.

I hope as I go about my everyday life, my love for Jesus can be seen as the beautiful bloom on this plant, alive and joyous, rather than the dead and stinking smell that just attracts ole buzzards.

If I can just get rid of that old selfishness that keeps trying to pop up almost every day to trip me up, this ought to help keep the buzzards at bay.

Nothing stinks worse than a self-centered life focused only on my own wants.

I’d rather be like the description in the Bible where it says, “God uses us to make the knowledge about Christ spread everywhere like a sweet fragrance.” (2 Corinthians 2:14b TEV)

Love in Jesus,

God’s “hopefully fragrant” servant,
Liz Ray

Written May 18, 2012