Especially these days, we're running around with more items on our to-do list than there are hours . . . shopping for the Thanksgiving meal, trying to find this year's "perfect" family Christmas card and hoping to get a jump on the gift buying. All while during the normal day to day routine of life.
That is, until a skunk stops us dead in our tracks.
Having just placed my briefcase in the car this morning to head off for work, I quickly ran back in the house to take our little dog out before leaving. She refused to cooperate (which is not entirely uncommon). I gave up and opened the door to head out for the day.
That's when I stopped. Less than 5 feet away, there sat a skunk scouring under my car staring right at me.
I don't know if my dog had sensed the presence of this unwelcome visitor (or, if the 46 degrees just fueled her "I'll do what I want when I want" attitude), but suddenly, my day took on a whole different look.
With one hand still on the doorknob and body forward, I gasped. One move (backward or forward) and I could inadvertently provoke my new friend and he would leave me with a parting (and long-lasting) gift.
I weighed my options and decided the best approach would be to see if I could quickly unlock the door I'd just locked and slip back into the house.
I prayed it would work.
It did. I breathed a sigh of relief inside the safety of my home.
I waited a few minutes before taking a peek outside. As I cautiously took a few steps towards the drive-way, I saw the skunk slowly making its way away from my front yard and down the street.
I'm at the office now and thankfully sans any odor . . . reflecting back on this morning's excitement though, wondering how often in the busy-ness of my days, God has to stop me dead in my tracks to get my attention.
It's a timely reminder for me that I need to set aside (and maintain!) a specific time for God and my prayer life . . . daily.
If prayer is going to happen consistently in my life, in addition to including it on my To Do list, I need to also be mindful to:
- Make prayer a priority
- Get up a little earlier (even 5 minutes) to allow for some morning prayer time
- Work prayer into my break time at work, after dinner or just before bedtime
Where and when we pray isn't as important as making it a routine.
Here's to prayer . . . and a sweet smelling day!
Lee Ann Jackson
Ambassador
We Connect. Ministry and Media.
Comments
Your story reminds me of my old New Jersey days. There were certain times of the year when the skunks became overly curiously aggressive and would stand in the road ahead of me for my morning runs. When they "turned" I beat-feet in the other direction... FYI - it takes a LOT of tomato juice to cure the smell!
Hope to see you at NRB!
Dick -- Thanks for the laugh this morning . . . skunks do make for good stories! See you at NRB!
We once took our Russian girls camping at a place called Possum Kingdom Lake. Should have been called Skunk Kingdom. Small clumps of skunks roamed the campsite, and you heard the cry of "Skunk!" from campers all night long. Thankfully, they made no scents to us.
Ron -- LOL! =)