On the way to prayer meeting at our little country church, I stopped to feed Grandma Alice’s cats, entrusted to my care while Marilyn’s grandparents took a little vacation. It was late in the summer and very late in the day. The sun had long sat, leaving only a landscape of ghostly black and gray shapes—not yet dark but no longer twilight.
Having visited this home many times over the years I knew I could find my way in the fading light. I squinted at the cat bowl, patted my way to the feed box and scooped out the evening’s blue plate special. Each passing moment carried what light was left away with it, so that I could only faintly see the shadowy images of the cats encircling the bowl, munching contentedly.
“Mission accomplished!” I thought, except I had shortsightedly placed the bowl at the top of the porch steps and effectively blocked my exit. Concerned I might frighten the hungry kittens, I spoke softly and approached slowly. Suddenly, I jumped back, repulsed by the overpowering stench of a skunk. One—or more!—of these cats had obviously wrestled with one of the stinky critters very recently!
My vision slowly adapted to the available light as I realized that my dinner guests weren’t cats at all, but an entire family of skunks! This momma skunk and her kits apparently were regular patrons at Alice’s Restaurant, and the pack of munching skunks blocked the only escape route from the enclosed porch! Every instinct screamed, “RETREAT!” I forced myself to quietly open the storm door at my back only to find the main door into the kitchen was locked! I wedged myself between the two doors as best I could, and considered my options. The odor was overwhelming and I fought to maintain my composure. Panic in check, I decided the only escape was to carefully step over the aromatic diners. Breath tightly held, I gingerly stepped over the pungent land mine, hoping against hope that my slow, calculated moves would avoid enemy fire.
It worked! I was free! I sprinted to the car celebrating my escape. The stench hung in my nostrils, but I knew I had dodged a bullet. I gathered my wits as I drove on to the prayer meeting. Like all country churches, Wednesday night prayer meetings were attended by the faithful few. They gathered in the front two pews and were already in prayer; not wanting to disturb them, I slid into the back pew.
I bowed to pray, but it wasn’t to be…my escape from skunks was all I could think about. Forgetting the others for the moment, I began to quietly chuckle. I slowly realized that the harmonious murmur of prayers had ceased as the sanctuary fell conspicuously silent. I glanced up to see the others, one by one, sniffing the air and eyeing one another suspiciously. Beginning in the pew (no pun intended) nearest mine, they turned slowly in a choreographed wave until the entire congregation had fixed their gaze upon me.
What do you say at a time like that? I managed a weak smile, mumbled something about “skunks… not kittens” and fled. Later that week I learned that the aroma permeated my seat and stubbornly persisted until they abruptly cancelled the prayer meeting. Forgive me, Lord.
Lord, I wonder how many prayers I’ve interrupted? How many praise sessions I’ve squelched? Seriously, forgive me for the times I’ve dragged the aroma of bad company into Your presence and the presence of others.
Thinking Devotionally, Please Read and Consider…
I Corinthians 2:14 “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.”
- Who is it that Christ uses to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of him?
- What do you think it means to be included in Christ’s triumphal procession?
- What do you think the triumphal procession looks like in real life?
- What do you think of when you think of the fragrance of Christ?
1 Corinthians 12:17 “If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?”
- Since the Church is the body of Christ here and now, what part might you be?
- As a part of the church body, what other parts do you rely upon?
- Considering the varied parts of the larger church body, why is it important that everyone cooperate in the church?
- You’ve used the expression when things aren’t going well, “This stinks!” What can you do to assure things at your church don’t stink?
Colossians 1:10 “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God”
- Take a moment and consider several things you did yesterday that were worthy of the Lord.
- What do you do on a regular basis that most pleases the Lord?
- According to this verse, what is the evidence of work that pleases the Lord?
- What do you do regularly to grow in the knowledge of God?
Lord Jesus, thank You for inviting me into Your presence even now. I pray that I might be a carrier of Your life and power into the lives of those I come into contact with today. May Your love and compassion radiate from me because I’ve been in Your presence. As You touch me even now, Lord, may Your aroma to saturate my being. Amen.