Stinky

It was a stinky night around here. It’s been raining for four days and one of our dogs got too close to a skunk. I don’t think anything smells worse than skunk except maybe wet skunky dog.

This is one of the reasons I didn’t want a dog. They smell. And living where we do I knew it was only a matter of time.

When we first got our dogs I was super hyper about bathing them and cleaning the kennel every week. I didn’t want my house to smell like dog. But I learned that even a clean, wet dog, still smells like wet dog. So I backed off that a little.

So the skunk tangle set off a domino effect cleaning tonight. It’s VBS week and I’ve been wrangling 25 preschoolers every day so I hadn’t planned on doing much but the bare minimum tonight. Or all week really.

But once we had the Pet Jet out I figured we may as well give both the dogs a bath as long as we already have the mess right?

So the dogs got bathed, kennel got cleaned out, and puppy blankets got washed. While I was cleaning out the kennel I stepped in dog poop. And I was barefoot. So I cleaned up the yard. Then I washed my feet in the tub which was already dirty from dog baths.

Which led to me cleaning the bathroom. Which totally needed to be done anyway. I washed the floor and lit a bunch of candles. I did all the dishes and cleaned the stove top. Even under the burners (are you proud mom?) and the sink.

Now I’m sitting here in my Lysol fresh house with some nice candles burning wondering what’s so bad about a little stink?

I’ve had a lot of stink in my life from time to time. The kind that doesn’t come from living in a house with five kids and two dogs. I mean emotional and spiritual stink. It's only a matter of time. Everyone gets sprayed at some point. The question is what are you going to do about it?

Dealing with the stink is no fun. But God gives us an opportunity for redemption. Why not take the opportunity to clean house? Why not look at it as as a chance to deal with my stuff. Maybe offer a little forgiveness, grow in humility, take out the trash, or clean under the burners of your heart. There is peace in washing away the stink of life.

If I just wallow in it, everything will stink pretty soon. So let the dominoes fall to redemption. Use the stink for good. Maybe I’ll clean up a few more things in my heart while I’m already down there scrubbing.

In the end when I have a clean slate and a heart that’s right with God, I’m kind of thankful for the stink. And for candles. And Lysol. And God’s grace and forgiveness. There’s no peace without that.