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| Jasmine flower from the orphanage |
I love the smell of the jasmine. But I've never seen or smelled a real jasmine flower before. I've only smelled it from tea or body lotion and fell in love with the beautiful scent. It's only last year that I came to know what it really looks like. It's strange that I was never too curious about what this beautifully scented flower might look like.
There was a flower bush in Cambodia in front of the orphanage that smelled really good - it smelled like jasmine. However, I didn't know what it was because the children were telling me the Cambodian name of the flower. So I just thought it must be some local flower with a good scent that smelled kinda like jasmine. For the entire week that I was staying at the orphanage, I just enjoyed its smell and never questioned if that might in fact be jasmine. Only once when I came back home, I started to wonder if that bush really was jasmine. I suddenly got excited and looked up "jasmine flowers."
This took me back to the time I was in Cambodia. I loved the smell of jasmine flowers brought by the breeze. It also reminded me of the conversation I had with one of the kids at the orphanage. I was walking around the garden, smelling various flowers to see where the smell had been coming from. When I got near to this flower, I was so excited that I finally found the source of the smell. I stuck my nose in the flower and inhaled as much as I can to remember its scent. Then one boy came to me to see what I'm up to. I shared how much I loved the smell. He started to pick all the blossomed flowers one by one. When he brought the flowers to me, his hands were full of these white jasmine flowers. I told him that he didn't have to pick all the flowers, I'm happy with one to keep as a souvenir. In response, he said that more will bloom tomorrow, whereas I'm only there for one more day so I should take all of them.
Out of all the flowers the boy picked for me, I only kept two in my Bible. The scent is barely there anymore, but I still stick my nose in my Bible, whenever I miss Cambodia.
Speaking of Cambodia, I couldn't fall asleep last night because I was thinking about Cambodia. The fact that there is an opportunity for me to return this summer got me excited. I know it's still a long time ahead, and I don't know what my situation will be like in the summer. However, I trust that if God wants me to go again this year, He will show me and make a way for me. So I'll be praying in the mean time and trust God.
