What is that I smell?

The scene was yesterday at the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport. Having just arrived from Mexico, I was waiting for my luggage at the immigration station when she spotted me. It was Gracie. She walked up to me, looked me over and then gave the person she was with the signal. It was like in the movie the Ten Commandments when the Red Sea parted, the crowd of people that was standing around me did the same thing. All because of Gracie those around me all stepped back. I was alone. What did Gracie want? What would have caused her to single me out from the crowd of 100 plus people? There she was pawing at me, sniffing me, indicating to the person with her that I was the one.

Perhaps you've seen one of those dogs that the TSA has trained to sniff luggage and carry-on items, looking for stuff that you're not suppose to be taking on board or bringing into the country. It would seem that Gracie had earned the enormous cost of her training. I was asked to remove my backpack and allow Gracie to stick her cold, wet, black, Beagle nose into my bag and sniff some more. That not being satisfactory, the TSA officer went through the bag also. Then came the question: Do you have any fruit in your bag? I told her that I had a couple of apples that I ate on-board flying in from Mexico. If Gracie wanted to smell my breath I certainly would oblige.

I am so happy to report to you it was a false alarm. You see Gracie has been thoroughly trained to detect fruit, vegetables and other plants that might be illegally smuggled into our country. The apple scent was still on the bag and she simply alerted her trainer in front of hundred's of fellow travelers that I had contraband. As one of the passengers with me would later say as he passed by me, "I thought you were going down".


In 2 Cor. 2:15 Paul writes, "...God thinks of us as a perfume that brings Christ to everyone." Would to God that our lives would leave a traceable scent that anyone around us, and not just Gracie, would know that we are His. Just sayin'...