Oh, Taste and See
Well, the inevitable has happened—Jason and I ended up with COVID. With the many miles we’ve traveled, places we’ve been, and people we’ve been in contact with, we’re not surprised. We’ve been quarantining for the past ten days because a family we were with during a meeting tested positive for COVID and called to let us know. We canceled meetings, rearranged our plans, and hunkered down in our motorhome to fulfill the required fourteen days of isolation.
A day or so after finding out we’d been exposed, I came down with something I assumed was my seasonal funk. I get it every spring and every fall. The changing of the weather wreaks havoc on my sinuses, and I lose my voice for a few days and combat the sniffles or a cough. Knowing we were exposed to COVID, I figured that could be what I was feeling, and this past weekend, one particular symptom let me know for sure—I lost all sense of taste and smell.
Typically, when I have a head cold, my taste and smell are impeded, but this is very different. It’s the strangest thing. Nothing has a flavor or odor. I cooked bacon. Nothing! I peeled oranges. Nope! I brewed the most robust teas I own, and they tasted like hot water. It’s quite crazy. The day after I discovered this odd new symptom, Jason realized he, too, had lost all taste and smell. So, we’ve canceled more meetings and extended our quarantine to ensure we don’t spread this dreaded disease. In the meantime, we’re doing our best to live life and take advantage of the downtime, despite our frustration at yet another delay in our deputation journey.
This whole taste/smell thing is mind-blowing. It’s like I eat something, knowing what it should taste like yet unable to distinguish any flavor at all. Textures are there, which is helpful, but overall, eating has become much less enjoyable. Everything tastes the same—like nothing! The only way I know to deal with it is to remind myself how things are supposed to taste. I have to rely on my memory—the many times my tongue has explored the deliciousness of bacon, chocolate, tea, and so much more. I must cling to past experiences because my present circumstances cannot be trusted. Oddly enough, this entire process brought to my mind a familiar Scripture verse.
“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
Taste and see that the Lord is good. That’s easy enough when your “taster” is working right, but what about when it’s not? What about those times when our circumstances cannot be trusted? How can we know God is good when we don’t see Him at work or feel Him in our midst? How can we believe the Lord is good when everything around seems to contradict that?
Ah, we have to rely on our memory. We have to look back on past experiences. Our “taster” may not be working well at the moment, but it has worked before. It has tasted God’s goodness time and time again, and it remembers. Our “taster” recalls the flavor of His grace. The fragrance of who God is evokes images of love and mercy. Right now, we may not be able to taste that goodness, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
I can’t taste chocolate right now, but I have no doubt that it’s still good. I can’t smell bacon, but I still believe, with all my heart, it is one of the most pleasing smells in all the world. How do I know? How can I be so sure? The same way I can understand the Lord is good. Past experience tells me so!
“And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High. I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.”