For the first time in my life, I contracted COVID. Thankfully, I was fully vaccinated and double boosted. My symptoms were mild, like a bad cold. After quarantining for the mandatory five days and retesting negative, I returned to work and resumed most of my normal activities, taking the recommended distancing and masking precautions. All seemed as it was a week before this all began, except for one thing. I could no longer smell or taste. These effects of a COVID infection are familiar to most and well-documented and all of us have experienced some degree of this when suffering through a bad cold. However, there are very few accounts that detail what it means to lose these two important senses.
I could discern impressions, but not the actual flavors. If I ate a pistachio, I could discern salty with a hint of sweetness. Yet, it could have been an almond or peanut. There was no flavor distinction. Same thing with drinks and wine was the worst. It is a complex drink with a barrage of flavors. I sensed nearly every impression as it flowed over my tongue, but with no distinction. No blackberry, peppery, cherry, tobacco or tannin flavors-familiar descriptors of many wines. The taste buds of the tongue were properly functioning. The problem was the nerves that transmitted the information were inflamed and damaged. The stimulated taste buds did not communicate the nuances of the flavors to the brain. This dramatic change reminded me of the spiritual truth the Apostle Paul taught in his letter to the Corinthian church.
Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT)
Even with all of our senses intact, we cannot completely perceive the full glory of God. We cannot appreciate the complete providential Hand of God directing our existence and the world’s events. Only when a believer is in the presence of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in Heaven, will all of our senses be completely and perfectly working. We will see and experience God perfectly, as we were created to be.
My senses of taste and smell were hindered by my infection. God willing, it will recover. However, it is a reminder that God has an even greater blessing for my senses when I meet Him someday. On that wonderful day, I will truly taste and see that the Lord is Good!
Hallelujah!
Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.
The Bereans Blog 
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