God the Original Aromatherapist

He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the service of man, that he may bring forth food from the earth.

Psalms 104:14

It is full-on spring, summer is just around the corner, the mornings are cool and crisp. and my favorite tree is in full bloom!

It is full of tiny white flower clusters, similar to a lilac, and has the sweetest fragrance that just permeates the air around the patio and into the house. The neighbors front porch isn’t far away, and they have commented on the scent, too.

This tree is only in bloom for a few weeks, but its the first sign of summer.

With some great advice from the nursery years ago, another bush we have will will be in bloom soon afterwards and pick up when the first tree’s blooms fade. Then the lilacs will come along right after that, giving us about six weeks of successive fragrance as we go in and out of the yard.

I always notice how these aromatic fragrances provide a mental boost to my emotions this time of year.

You probably also notice this mental boost when you are in the great outdoors – mountains, oceanfront, the park….natural places. You may not be able to pick out the individual scents from the trees, grasses, flowers and such, but collectively, you just smell the outdoors and feel better.

This makes me wonder if that’s what it was like in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the day. Aroma-therapy at its most basic level.

 Genesis 3:8 

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Applying the same reasoning about my springtime smell-fest, one day it seriously hit me…. that God created the plants for more than just a food source.

As I ponder on all this as I went about my life, God led me to scripture that confirmed this.  First was Revelations, and then with my study bible cross referencing to Ezekiel.

 Revelation 22:2

In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Ezekiel 47:12

Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.

Let’s go to the  Healing and Medicine – Word Study to take a closer look at the definitions in the Strong’s Concordance.

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I hope you took a look at that word study. Multiple Greek (NT)  – for Revelations, and Hebrew (OT)  -for Ezekiel, were used to convey the original meanings.

Looking back at Revelation 22:2, and paraphrasing from the Strong’s Concordance definitions we could further explain healing by saying:

In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month.  The leaves of the tree (of life) were to be a menial attendant to bring about gradual relief of disease to bring about a cure to the nations.

 

Looking back at Ezekiel 47:12, and again paraphrasing from the Strong’s Concordance definitions, we could further explain medicine by saying:

Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary.   The fruit of (the all kinds of trees) will be for food and their leaves will be a  medical remedy.

Just from looking at the scriptures, it stands to reason that the many kinds of trees will have different nutritional and curative properties, and we know that science bears this out.

I have taken a concerted interested in essential oils and studying how to apply them for health and beauty the last few years. It all began after finding a couple of books in a box hidden in the back of a closet.

And while I’m not at all opposed to going to doctors, the older I’ve gotten the more aware I’ve become about looking for natural alternatives first…unless of course its an emergency.

Please, PLEASE, please know that this is my opinion for me. This is in no way a condemnation of the choices you make for yourself and your family.

Now that you know my mindset, I’d like to share with you what I’m learning about applying essential oils to health and beauty.

Essential Oils and Aromatherapy

The word ‘aromatherapy’ is not in the bible, but was first used by a French chemist named René-Maurice Gattefossé who was working in the family perfume company.

He had an accident in the laboratory (badly burned his hand and applied lavender essential oil, which healed it much faster than expected) and began studying the therapeutic benefits of essential oils. He published his book, Gattefossé’s Aromatherapy in 1937 and is considered the father of aromatherapy. His book was translated in 1993 and is available today.

For me, it all started with a boring Bronco game a couple of years ago, and a burn on my wrist that wasn’t healing very quickly. I began flipping through my The Complete Guide to Essential Oils and Aromatherapy book that I found in the aforementioned closet, and saw that lavender essential oil would heal a burn.

I had some (I’ve used it for making linen spray for years – an aromatic use to help me sleep better) and put a few drops on as directed that afternoon and again before I went to bed (I could already see improvement after the first application). The next morning when I checked, it was much improved and almost completely healed!

That got me excited and I started reading and studying more.

Today, aromatherapy is defined as ‘the practice of using the natural oils extracted from flowers, bark, stems, leaves, roots or other parts of a plant to enhance psychological and physical well-being.’

Science Proves God

For many, many years, people have known that there is physical and emotional healing in natural ingredients, including essential oils (like my linen spray example). Modern medicine, for a variety of reasons we won’t go into here, has not acknowledged that healing power, and continues to go so far as to discourage it’s use. However, science is discovering the power of God’s creation when it comes to medicine, whether they want to give Him the glory or not.

Here are a few essential oil facts that science has confirmed so far:

•  Most of our brain tissue is protected by a highly dense layer of cells between the brain and bloodstream to severely restrict bacteria and other substances from entering those areas. Brain infections are very rare, and are severe and hard to treat when they do happen, because of the small molecular size that is able to pass through this blood-brain barrier. This was no accident, but by God’s design.

•  Doctors think that only molecules less than 800-1000 atomic mass units (amu) can pass through this blood-brain barrier. Essential oils from every plant species are less than 500 amu, making them uniquely able to cross the blood-brain barrier. Because these molecules are so small, they are also able to become airborne, making them aromatic. If the concentration is sufficient, our brains can detect them as odor and smell. (The Healing Oils of the Bible, Dr. David Stewart).

•  Even if we can’t detect them, they are still able to pass the blood-brain barrier. Smell affects our emotions; certain scents remind us of specific events in our lives: cinnamon rolls remind us of mom’s kitchen, etc. Certain essential oils  (which we will look at in a different post) have known emotional healing characteristics as well as physical ones. (The Healing Oils of the Bible).

•  Essential oils are known to have antibiotic, antiseptic, antiviral and anti fungal properties. Most have one or two of these, some have all four. Modern medicine has concentrated on antibiotic drugs and offers few antiviral drugs. (The Complete Guide to Essential Oils and Aromatherapy).

• Manufactured antibiotics are made precisely the same throughout all batches, allowing bacterial strains to mutate and become resistant to these drugs. Some bacterial pathogens are resistant to ALL known drugs. Because essential oils are plant-based, the oils will vary slightly based on a plant’s growing conditions. These minute variations will prevent bacterial pathogens from becoming immune to the essential oils. (The Healing Oils of the Bible).

This is what God’s divine plan for us has been all along.   I have always known in the back of my mind that there is medicinal value in plants, and I’ve experienced it firsthand over the years.

As I study this more, I will try to give the science behind essential oils where appropriate to substantiate scripture, and resources for you to do your own research, if you are interested. I will also share some of my own health and beauty recipes that you can make and adapt to fit your specific needs, if you choose.

At the very least, hopefully you will come away with a deeper, and perhaps new understanding of the healing power of essential oils and natural ingredients.  I certainly know I have!

-Pam

 

 

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