Deviated septum correction

I have a relative of two sinus invasions, and you have a well-suited candidate for all the messy diaper and vomit cleanups that come with infant raising. As well as garbage gathering and bathroom cleaning.

The downside of the inhibited olfactory sense is that I do not catch much of the delicate aroma that accentuates food flavor. I tend to prefer intense flavors. I like my toast to be near black (if it doesn’t smoke, it’s not toasted). I like foods that are salty, sour, bitter, or sweet. The texture of food also needs to be distinct, crunchy, or lumpy. Yes, I do like sweet and sour pork with noodles.

This flaw, in my senses, is usually worth not having a deviated septum! Now I have a deviated smeller. I may be smell deprived, but I do get a lot more air. If I had to choose between tasting food and breathing air, I would choose air every time. I seem to have an addiction to air. But that does not mean I do not miss an acute sense of smell. When I get to that banquet in Heaven, I will just sit there, with my nose hovering over my plate of food, and anticipate the taste as I delight in its fragrance.

One interesting note, at least to me, while I do not smell much of the outdoor fragrances, I do definitely feel the presence of the histamines. That is a bit of a bummer, paying for something I do not get.

Here is where our word careless comes into play. One of humanity’s greatest strengths is the ability to adjust the “normal” or norms of life to coincide with the desires of their lives. Social norms change according to the preferred behaviors of society. Class wars, gender equality, racism, and homophobia are just a few of the more talked about abnormalities in our culture.

All these vices or excesses are birth in careless handling of Truth. The root word for deviate comes from Latin “deviare” and means to wander or swerve off the road. So, the real question is, “What road?” For this pondering that road is the Truth as revealed in the Bible. I have come to believe that deviance from the Truth comes by carelessly substituting our “reasonable” ideas about truth for the Truth.  If we are careless in being on the right road, we will soon find ourselves forging our own road through life. Blazing your own road is labor-intensive. Not only is it laborious in clearing a way, but it also collides with the roads other humans are cutting for themselves.

But there is a road, and it is the “road less traveled.” Jesus said, “I am the way…”, He is the way, the norm. When you were conceived in your parents’ love or someone’s lust, you were given half of their DNA. In addition, you received an incredible gift of grace from your Creator, His image. Within that image is the “Way,” the road, to fulfilling all the wonder of that image. That image is best seen in the life of Jesus. When the various options of life encounter us, we decide if we will deviate from God’s normal as revealed in His Word and in the life of His Son.

It is a careless way to live, allowing our society to determine what is normal. God essentially said to Adam and Eve, if you choose to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will have deviated from my plan for you, and you will live a life of death. “Society” has been deadly ever since.

Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk — not as unwise people but as wise — making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. (Ephesians 5:15-17 CSV)

Photo – Two bowls I made earlier this year. Yes, they are for sale to a home that would treat them well.