Excuse me if I’m holding my nose right now. It’s not because of the smell, but it is becoming a common activity for me lately. 

I remember as a kid holding my nose when my family drove past a farm. In those days we only had four-by-four air conditioning in our car – that was basically all four windows rolled down. Thankfully, we were usually out of range of the farm really fast. 

This summer on our vacation, Lily and I drove for a good thirty minutes with the smell of manure seeping through the closed vents in our car – it was brutal. We had the air con blasting and the air circulating in the car and not bringing in fresh air. The smell was still pretty strong.

… I think the worst for me, though, was one time when the administrator at the church I was working at got manure for the gardens around the church.

It was pretty fresh manure … too fresh. 

Even though I was an adult at the time, the scent was so strong that I would hold my breath or plug my nose from my car to the church. 

It was amazing that that administrator kept his job! The strong odour lasted for weeks and the students I was working with at the time were very vocal about it. 

The good thing was that the kids ran into the church for our programs. There was no lingering outside. They came straight in.

A rotten odour is usually what you think of when you see someone holding their nose. But that has nothing to do with why I’ve been holding my nose lately. 

It seems that every year at this time, and another time in the winter, I am prone to nose bleeds. 

I’ve been having them since my teen years and they come on very suddenly and unexpectedly. I had my share of nose bleeds from being hit in the nose, but these bleeds happen at any time for no apparent reason. 

I’ve had two in the last week. Both times my nose started bleeding in the shower. 

On the one hand, there isn’t any mess; it all goes down the drain. But have you ever tried to finish showering with one hand? … And then there is the drying off. 

This morning I had a nose bleed while showering after playing hockey. I wished they had one of those car wash dryers. Then I could have let the wind dry me off.

I am now a master at the one-hand towel manipulation. 

I’m sure I will have a few more bleeds before the end of the fall. My blood pressure is in check, so it’s just something that happens as the seasons change. 

You know some people can tell by the pain in their neck when it is going to rain. Well, I can tell that the season is changing by my leaky nose.

Here’s the thing: No one likes getting a cut or having a nose bleed. Our blood is meant to stay inside us. We need it to live. But Jesus was willing to bleed and die for your and my sins. He bled for us – something we wouldn’t wish on anyone. Be sure you are secure in His salvation by placing your faith in Jesus as the Son of God and your Saviour. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How much would you suffer for someone else? Leave your comments and questions below.

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