I don’t know why, but I was graced with a super sense of smell. My keen sense of smell can pick up every scent, fragrance or aroma, even if it is faint or in the far distance. Add to that crazy sense of smell an extreme sensitivity to strong smells. Lord have mercy when I come in contact with a pungent perfume, lotion or cologne, my stomach goes into an instant state of nauseousness. This creates a real problem when I am in an enclosed area with no place to go! I know I can’t be the only one that deals with this hyper smell dilemma!

I wasn’t feeling so well today so I needed to stay home, let nature run its course and get some extra rest to recover. I had been home all day and left only to go to an already planned chiropractic appointment (that I almost forgot about) in the early evening. On my drive home I picked up some electrolyte water and animal crackers (I read it was National Animal Cracker Day, so of course I had to do my part to honor this day..and it sounded yummy after a day of not feeling well). I drove around a bit just so I could enjoy seeing the outside world a little longer and take in the warm and rainy spring day.

I arrive back home carrying my bag of treats in one hand and my keys in the other. I unlocked my apartment door, and it hit me, my nose was on high alert!!! I winced back and scrunched up my nose in disgust because what I was smelling was the strongest stanky smell (you did not need a super sniffer to smell this jazz!!)! It pretty much smelled like something died twice and it was trying to resurrect itself! I immediately dropped my bag of goodies and went right to the nasty culprit, the trash can under the sink. I began pulling the plastic bag out of the bin as quick as I could. I reached down to tie the bag off and a thought dropped into my mind…”how was I sitting in this apartment all day with this smell without even noticing it?!”

As I finished tying off the bag and started to walk outside another thought occurred to me, “What “stinky trash” might be in our lives that we can’t detect because we are sitting comfy-cozy in life?!” It then dawned on me that it wasn’t until I left, came back and tried to open the door again that the smell was even remotely noticeable. I clearly had to get out of my current situation to notice the stink. It is amazing to me how very comfortable I was to sit in the stinky-ness, totally unaware of how bad it actually was.

How often do we sit in our own stink (and I don’t mean body odor) and we aren’t able to recognize that something smells off and we need to deal with some “trash” in our lives? Life’s “trash” can be equated with so many things; pride, selfishness, jealousy, gossip, a secret sin issue, a co-dependent relationship, a toxic friendship, _________(you fill in the blank). This clearly isn’t an exhaustive list by any stretch of the imagination but it gives a starting point for self examination. (*Also please know that I do not think people are trash. The verbiage “trash” is used strictly for metaphorical purposes.*)

As I took the trash out tonight I did some of my own self evaluation. I noticed that some stink was being brought to light in my own life, so I took an extra moment to symbolically throw out some of my own “trash” while I tossed out my plastic bag of trash. It was such a simple and visible act, but so powerful. It is interesting to me that once we are aware of the “stink” how quickly we want to dispose of it!

God is so rich in mercy. He is willing to allow us to smell the stink in our lives, locate the source of the stink and then at the same time provide us with the grace to remove the trash. He is forever a kind, loving and compassionate God.

•What are things in your life that you need to maybe step away from to gain a different perspective?

•Are you still opening the same door and sittin’ comfy in some old stink?

•Are you holding on to remnants, an empty shell of something that once was but needs to be released?

Be brave. Be bold. Be courageous….and take out the trash! 😉

Have a splendid day!