To stop and smell the roses can be frightening thing – that is why we do it so infrequently. We often think of that phrase, ‘Stop and smell the roses’, as a call to forsake the busy rat race for a quick time of sweet rest and refreshment among the treasures of nature. Pause, relax, let the stress drain away while you watch the waves or stare at a mountain peak.
So, how can that be a frightening thing? Because, to ‘stop and smell the roses’ can be a ‘signal of transcendence.’ Peter Berger coined the phrase to means hints and clues in life that awaken us to unseen realities. Os Guinness has a new book out by that title where he shares how ten people came to understand that there must be more to life.
Peter Berger described these hints and clues as “signals of transcendence” that awaken us to unseen realities. Have you ever experienced a “there must be more to life” or a “signal of transcendence?” Some thought that so stunned you as to change your perspective on life radically? It could be a deep disappointment, or a frustrated desire, or the scent a flower, or a death, or a sermon? Anything can be a signal of transcendence calling you to reevaluate your assumptions in life.
You might think that I am talking about conversion, and that is in the mix, and it is often the end of a journey that begins with a ‘signal of transcendence.’
There must be more to life. Let me give you a taste of this from my own experience. When, as a teenager, death stuck my extended family twice, I thought, there must be more to life. When I learned about Corrie Ten Boom who survived the Nazi death camps, but her sister did not, forgave a guard from that camp. When I went to L’arbi in Switzerland and knew the tangible presence of the Holy Spirit, when I was called to be ministry during a sermon, when I was called by God to my first church, when my children and grandchildren were born. God can use any experience to awaken us to profound, and neglected spiritual realities.
The essential thing is to listen when God speaks in this way. Heed the still small voice. Follow up on the signal. Don’t forget how the rose smells. It may change your life.