CHAPTER THREE: STINKIN' TO HIGH HEAVEN

From my book Like a Sweet Fragrance 

My first summer job was working at a Mexican restaurant as a guacamole server, dishwasher, and overall kitchen cleaner. I’d leave work smelling, not of fragrant sopapillas, but of grease and sweat and other unidentifiable odors that come from cleaning up after other people. I dreamed of being the smiling hostess, greeting and escorting customers to their tables. I never made it that far. Instead, I went home every night reeking from my job. I survived that first part-time job, but it’s a testimony to tough Texas genes that I still love Mexican food.

Have you ever worked a job you couldn’t stand? Somehow you survived it, but you would rather have been anywhere else -- even in a possum-infested trailer? That’s probably pushing it, but there are some unpleasant jobs out there. Maybe you’re trying to survive one right now.

I think I’ve found a job, however, that trumps all others. When I first read about it, my immediate reaction was disbelief, but curiosity drove me to our local pharmacist because this particular job involved a special thermometer, and if anyone knew whether or not it existed, he would be the one. 

While browsing through the pharmacy shelves, I saw regular thermometers, talking thermometers and singing thermometers -- at least there weren’t any singing rectal thermometers -- but I didn’t find the specific one I was looking for; in fact, after checking his catalogs, the pharmacist couldn’t find it either and assured me it was a hoax.

But what make the job rumor unforgettable was that inside the box an excerpt supposedly reads: “Every rectal thermometer made by (I’m going to leave out the company’s name) is personally tested.”

I’m going to repeat that because it’s so bizarre:  “Every rectal thermometer made is personally tested!

Yes, the rumor was simply a rumor; but it dramatically proves a valid point -- sometimes a job exists that is worse than ours and if there’s not, we certainly can imagine one that is! And what would a child tell his or her friends on career day? My parents test rectal thermometers for a living?

Balancing a stressful job with other commitments and responsibilities can be difficult even if we’re grateful for our job, but there is another stink that doesn’t come from the environment where we work. It doesn’t come from our co-workers, nor does it come from our job description. And it doesn’t even come from a low salary if that’s an issue. 

This particular stink can come from us. It can come from me. When I’ve ceased to keep Christ first in my life, I am the source of that stink.

When I don’t stay close to Jesus, I’m like that “dead skunk in the middle of the road, stinkin’ to high heaven.”  The song I sang as a young girl states it clearly.  And if I’m stinkin’, the people around me are smelling me, too, and that’s not pretty. Not one bit.

And what’s even worse is if I am stinkin’ to high heaven, the One in heaven is also smelling me. And that’s certainly not pretty. No, not pretty at all.

We can spray air freshener, light perfume-scented candles, plug in pumpkin Scentsy, hang scent packs, and display Lavender reed diffusers, but we can’t eliminate the odor until we find the possum causing the stench. To eliminate an odor, we must eliminate its source.

Occasionally, I’ve been unaware that I’m the one stinking; however, many times I’ve known it was me. And I’ve also grown accustomed to my own stink and not been bothered by it at all. But I can’t spread the fragrance of Christ if he has ceased to be first in my life. 

In the Bible, God gives us glimpses of some dynamic individuals whose merits by far outweighed their mistakes, yet he’s also shared with us glimpses of those who have stunk quite often. They didn’t always stink, but when they did, they skunked it up pretty good. Their scent, at times, was more Eau de Skunk than a fragrant aroma. 

By reading about their lives, however, I am encouraged to take action to resolve the issues in my own. In other words, they inspire me to avoid staying stuck in my stink by sticking close to Jesus. Their stories encourage me to rip out the pink insulation until I find the source and then sacrifice it on God’s altar of forgiveness. 

The burnt offering in the Old Testament was offered every morning and every evening. The central offering, it was the most basic of the five offerings God required.  No other need could be met until this need was met.

Worshipers were actively involved with the sacrifice presented on their behalf. They chose the animal to be sacrificed – one without blemish and from their own flocks. In addition, they took it to the sanctuary, killed it, and watched it go up in smoke, a compelling and significant act which profoundly affected them and their relationship with God.

Just like He did for them, God shows us -- through the symbolism of the burnt offering -- that we can never satisfy any other hunger or have true peace until we have satisfied our need for God’s love. Foundational for a meaningful life, our relationship with God carries us through the tough times. And with God, relationship requires our active participation.

For us, Christ is the perfect “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). He is “the way, and the truth, and the life” to God the Father (John 14:6). And he reminds us in Mathew 28:20 that he will always be with us. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we will never be abandoned.

Before the 2011Texas drought, my husband and I enjoyed evenings in our small fragrant garden filled with rosemary and basil and roses. One night, while basking in the fragrance of the purple passion vine growing on our arbor, my husband’s slightly alarmed tone caused me to look up. “What is that?” he asked quietly, pointing to a spot directly over my head. 

Glancing up, I caught a glimpse of a rather long, slimy snake - uninvited and unwanted.  I hadn’t seen a snake in our yard in years, and now there was a nasty one coiled on top of my perfect little arbor in my perfect little garden. The snake in the garden.

I think that’s what sin does. It slithers around and invades. It infringes on our lives.  It’s slippery and slinky and slimy and stinky.  And it’s real. And there are snakes on our arbors and snakes in our lives, and God knows and tells us to be aware.

I went upstairs shortly afterwards to study my Bible, and you know what? The freshness of God’s Word makes us forget the snake in the garden.

God encourages us through his Word, and he also places people in our paths to encourage us as well. Individuals who spread his fragrance. Who remind us that our lives matter. Who help us get back on track when we’re distracted by dead skunks and slimy snakes. 

Many years ago, I arrived at a place in my life where I was tired of easy answers and simple steps. I lived in house with a picket fence but that wasn’t my life – it was a good life, yes, but I wanted more. I didn’t want pretense. When I hurt, I hurt. I didn’t like pretending I didn’t. I’d really have preferred not to hurt in the first place! But I knew there was more to the life of a Christian than what I had been living. And I wanted it!

And then a radiant Christian woman moved in the midst of our town, and the sweet fragrance of Christ surrounded her wherever she went. And I thought, “Oh, yes! That’s it! That’s what I want!”  Watching her made me want what she had.

She once said to me, “I just love Jesus!” And when she said it, I realized what she had wasn’t second hand knowledge, but usin’ knowledge. That was the knowledge of Christ she was spreading. Her relationship with Jesus Christ was more than words; it was exciting!  What I saw in the life of my friend Raini Altimore was Jesus.

It’s like the story Anne Graham Lotz tells of the little boy who was puzzled when the preacher told him Jesus would come live inside him if he asked him. If Jesus was a grown man and he was only a little boy, then Jesus was going to be “sticking out all over!” (154).

I knew Jesus. But I spent more time talking about him than talking to him. And he certainly wasn’t sticking out all over.

Second Corinthians 3:18 tells us we are transformed “into his likeness” by staying really close to Jesus. And as we imitate him, we are to “live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1). It’s an honor for us to imitate Jesus, but to do so, we must stay close. 

Preparing for company, a friend of mine had baked two pies, which she promptly placed on the edge of her kitchen table. Unfortunately, before she could move them, her rather large dog jumped up, grabbed part of the pie, and ran. The other dog, instead of grabbing his own pie, started chasing the first dog, trying to lick the pie out of his mouth! He could have had his own pie; instead, he was content to lick what he could grab from his buddy.

Psalm 34:8 encourages us to “taste and see that the LORD is good.” God put Raini in my path to show me that I needed my own pie! We all need our own pie, not someone else’s leftovers.  And it’s good pie!

Since I’m a high school English teacher, I’m regularly preoccupied with split infinitives, pronoun-antecedent problems, and other grammatical issues; but misplaced modifiers bother me the most. For those of you immediately sensing a grammar lesson, don’t panic! This lesson is all about you, not syntax!

Because a modifier describes something else, it must be placed as close as possible to what it describes. If it’s too far away, the original meaning of the sentence is distorted or unclear. 

What if a skunk chased the boy with three legs?

What if a man bought a cat for his sister-in-law named Stinky?

What if the desk was bought by his wife with big drawers?

See? Words matter! And modifiers that are in the wrong position cause problems.

As Christians, we can’t function as misplaced modifiers! We matter. We can’t be in the wrong position. Our lives won’t impact the world as they are intended unless we’re right beside Jesus at all times. And that’s how we avoid “stinkin’ to high heaven.”

And hopefully, that grammar lesson didn’t cause you to quit reading!

My dog Riley is a rescue dog, but not necessarily in the way you might think. I did, in fact, rescue him; however, what I rescued him from was life in a fraternity house.  I didn’t think he was receiving as much love and attention from the college students as I could give him at home, so I took him. I couldn’t get my son to come back home, so I took his dog! And Riley has lived with us for fourteen years now. He’s an old, overweight, and completely content beagle even though he’s partially blind, practically deaf, and has osteoporosis. He also thinks I’m the greatest thing in his life simply because I’m the one that feeds him. So feed him I do.

Riley’s bed needed to be replaced, so I picked one up at the dollar store, but it was way too small. But Riley didn’t refuse it because it was too small. In fact, I don’t think Riley had the foggiest idea that it was too small. Instead he chose to climb in it just so he could be near me. Even now, if I’m close by, Riley climbs in his way-too-small bed and is perfectly content. He may have to go around in circles quite a few times getting comfy, but he eventually finds a spot and he’s as happy as he can be.

I’ve learned a lot by watching Riley. God has given me the responsibility of many jobs -- wife, mother, friend, teacher, and writer -- and I have a choice to make each day: to stay close to God or not. In fact, the most important choice I make in my day-to-day life is to stay close to God. In whatever space I might find myself. And many times some of the spaces seem incredibly small.

Recently, I’ve heard more struggling stories than I’ve heard in a long time, but I know one Christian lady whose life seems to be a serious series of unfortunate events that ranks up there with Job’s.  In fact, if I were to give her life a title, I’d call it:  “Again? Are you kidding me?”  For it seems like she never gets a break.

A lovely lady who loves the Lord, she is strong, purposeful, and committed to following Jesus Christ wherever he leads. Right now she is in one of those valleys where you truly do wonder if those bones can live. Yet tenaciously, she has dedicated herself to holding on to God like a small child refusing to let go of her mother’s coat.

Her life is a movie plot, not an adventure or a romantic flick or a thriller, but a tragic, yet realistic story of raw pain and desperation; still she radiates hope that can only come from the God of Peace. Of her four children -- one is in jail, one ran away, one passed away, and one, thankfully, has been resurrected from a life of no return. In addition, her husband is dead, she suffers from severe health problems, and she is worried about losing her home. Yet she has one focus: God can do miraculous things even when people are at their most hopeless.

And in this particular season of her life, in the midst of an incredibly stressful job in addition to these other excruciating circumstances, her fragrant life draws others toward the only one who can make a difference. Yes, she cries and screams and pleads. And she questions. And at times she’s even bitter.  But through it all, she trusts and believes. She knows the reality of who God is does not change in any troublesome situation.  Even when circumstances continue to grow worse. 

Undoubtedly, she’s in a mess, but she also knows he’s in the midst of it with her. In her heart she has “set apart Christ as Lord” and she is always “prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks” her why she has hope (1 Peter 3:15).

As I’ve watched other people intentionally and unintentionally judge her and draw their own conclusions about why her life is so difficult, I’ve learned that the world might see us in the pit, but God sees us in his midst. And when I’m tempted to do my own judging of others, I’ll always remember that lesson.

The midst is where we find Jesus - in the midst of our heartaches and our disappointments and our struggles. And because he is there with us, his sweet fragrance draws people who will see that hope comes from the God of Hope, not from worldly security.

Just as John saw Jesus in the midst of his vision in Revelation, my friend sees Jesus in her daily routine.

Just as Jesus taught in Matthew 18:20 that when two or three are gathered together in His name, he is in their midst, my friend has found Jesus at work where she prays with her co-workers.

Just as the spectators and disciples and leaders witnessed Jesus hanging on the cross in the midst of two thieves, my friend has witnessed Jesus in the midst of what seems to be a dead situation. 

And because Jesus rose from the dead and came and stood with his friends when they were gathered together in the upper room, my friend believes that he can resurrect anything; so she has hope.

When I’m with her, I get a whiff of Christ’s heavenly scent. A reminder that life can be tough, but God wants us to trust him. A reminder that we might feel ignored, but God wants us to believe what he says about himself. A reminder that it may seem like he’s not around, but God wants to reveal Himself to us in the midst of our mess.

In those times when we’re in the midst of waiting -- maybe waiting for the ominous results of a medical test or for a loved one to come her senses or for a much needed job opportunity – we are “to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).   To look for the reality of God in every situation. And to stay close.

Paula McNeely is another woman after God’s own heart. She loves the Lord and God clearly loves her. Her husband recently passed away and while talking to her at his funeral, she reminded me of a comment she made to me at Bible study several years before.

With the economy, the job situation, and the overall economic condition that has become reality for so many of us, she and her husband were struggling. I’ll never forget her words, though, because I wrote them down. This is what she said:  “You know, I told my husband the other day that regardless of how difficult it had been, regardless of the disappointments and lost dreams, regardless of what has happened, I wouldn’t trade our life together for anything in this world. It’s been worth it.” 

Barely a month after that, her husband was diagnosed with cancer. And she remembered her words to him, continuing to do so as the three of them -- Paula, her husband, and Jesus -- went through the next difficult years together. I’ll never forget them either. The words she spoke nor the McNeelys. 

The time they spent together was sacred for they made sure to keep God in their midst. They treated each moment they had together as momentous. As a gift full of God. They, too, “set apart Christ as Lord” and stayed close. And the life they shared was worth it. 

Undoubtedly, God does not desire for us to live our lives wasting the years he gives us on this planet.  The dead skunk didn’t “look to the left or to the right” before he tried to cross the road, so we need to watch out for trouble; but we also need to look for glimpses of God all around us.

In The Disciple’s Prayer Life, T.W. Hunt and Catherine Walker suggest using color as a way to praise God throughout the day.

For example, a  life of no-wasted moments is seeing the color red in the world, reminding us to thank God for the blood of Jesus Christ who “gave himself for our sins” (Galatians 1:4). So when I’m walking down the red halls of Bellville High School, instead of focusing on how many days I have left to retire, I’m thanking God for my Savior and asking Him to help me see the teenagers I teach as students He has given me to teach. To see them through His eyes. To pray for my students each day. And to remember that “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

A life of no-wasted moments is also seeing the color green as I drive down the highway, a color which reminds us to thank Him for spiritual growth. So when I arrive at work every day, the grass around the school is a heavenly reminder that I’ve been given another day not just to survive in our world, but to grow in the knowledge of God. Not to wish the day away. Not to wish my life away. Not to wait for the next good thing to happen. But to live desiring to make a difference and sometimes it’s that desire that makes all the difference in my life, too.  And as the school day ends and I’m leaving Bellville High School, that same green grass is another reminder that even if I’ve had a discouraging day, even if I felt like I accomplished nothing, even if I wanted to be somewhere else all day long, God was there in the midst, encouraging me, transforming more like His Son, and spreading the sweet fragrance of Christ. And each day as I rely more on him, the color green reminds me “to live a life worthy of the Lord” and “please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10).

A life of no-wasted moments is also standing in awe of God whenever we see the color blue. So regardless of whether I look out the windows of our school and glimpse the heavenly blue sky or I glance at my students and see a sea of blue jeans, I’m reminded to “praise him for his acts of power” and for “his surpassing greatness” (Psalm 150: 2). I’m reminded that my God is omniscient and omnipotent and omnipresent and He knows exactly where I am and what I’m doing and that He is totally involved in my day. Even when I’m doing the least exciting duties of my job like lesson plans!

A life of no wasted moments is living a life of thankfulness, but also living our lives by thinking about God, too. AW Tozer said, “Without a doubt, the mightiest thought the mind can entertain is the thought of God” (2).  As we think about God, we are mindful of whose we are, not just where we are. And if we get the being right, the doing will follow.

In Psalm 17:8, the psalmist prays, “Keep me as the apple of your eye.” When we look at someone intently, staring closely into his eyes, we will see ourselves reflected there. This phrase is based on what happens when we look a person in the eye at point blank range.

That’s how God looks at us. That’s how focused he is on us. It’s like his hands are on our shoulders as he looks –with great love and undivided attention – directly into our eyes.  Oswald Chambers said that sanctification is “an intense narrowing of all our interests on earth, and an immense broadening of all our interests in God.” And the miracle is that as we look at God, he is looking intently at us for God wants to be seen.

One night, a friend of mine bravely went to investigate an odd noise she heard in her bathroom and discovered, to her amazement, a drenched hairy-like animal on the floor, looking suspiciously like it had crawled out of her toilet! 

Not knowing whether it was alive or dead, she called an animal lover and rescuer, and together they discovered the drenched hairy animal was actually a water-logged squirrel! Unlike my furry white possum, it didn’t stink, but it was definitely a stinky sight.  And they didn’t know if it was going to live. Taking the squirrel to a rescue facility, they received a call a month later that it was alive and ready to be released back to where it had buried its nuts. The squirrel that crawled out of a toilet was ready for life again because someone cared enough to help.

Thankfully, it’s not possible for humans to get stuck in a toilet, but we can get stuck in situations that seem equally hopeless. God, however, specializes in dead situations. He sends people in our midst who care and he also sends us to people who need caring for. And as long as we stay close to him, we’ll be right where we need to be.

And as he releases us back in the world to do what he made us to do, we’ll spread the fragrance of Christ wherever he leads. 

Many years ago, I remember sitting in the home of some friends when a chimney sweep flew out of the fireplace and flapped around the room. Immediately, the cat on the couch jumped after the bird and then the dog, not to be left out, started barking. Soon the three-legged deer the family had befriended leaped across the room at the dog and the cat while the bird was still flying; and then the three ducks outside in the pool started squawking!

Did I mention that our friend was a veterinarian?

That night demonstrates how overwhelming life can be. How we can’t keep up with the birds and the cats and the dogs and the deer and the ducks in our lives. Not to mention the squirrels and the snakes and the skunks. How we can’t keep up with the commotion and the noise and the disasters waiting to happen. And how distractions do what they do best: distract us!

Riley escaped one day. He sauntered away from my friend Gana’s house where he was staying for the weekend. Moving down the road at his own snail’s pace, he finally plopped down in the middle of the road and wouldn’t budge. And since he weighs 50 pounds, it’s not too easy to move him if he doesn’t want to be moved. Riley was going to be like that dead skunk. Gana and David were worried.

But David had a solution. Taking a plate of spaghetti outside where Riley could get a whiff of it, David slowly lured him back home where he was safe. Now whenever he runs away, he goes to their house because he remembers they have good food!

Many times, I've sauntered off, distracted by all the commotion in my life and convinced that there's something better down the road. I haven’t kept God close and have acted like that dead skunk stinkin’ to high heaven. But God loves me. By the sweet fragrance of Christ, he lures me back home where it’s safe. For that's where Jesus is. That’s where the good food is. And that's where he wants all of us to be.

A few years ago, God showed up in the men’s restroom at a women’s Bible study I was attending in Houston. With thousands of ladies attending this event, the women's restrooms were impossible, but the men’s restrooms were empty. No lines. No waiting. No one there. Maybe not as fragrant, but certainly available. So in I went, only to be shocked at hearing another female voice in the stall next to mine. Who just so happened to be a woman I knew. Who just so happened to be another Bible study teacher. Who just so happened to speak at women’s events. Who just so happened to need a computer for an event. Which I just so happened to have.

This is no ordinary day, but a time to be “overwhelmed with wonder” (Mark 9:15) as we run to greet God each morning and refuse to move from his side. Who knows what he will say to us today? Or where ? Or in the mist of what unlikely moment he will chose to say it? It might even be in the men’s bathroom!

Let’s look for Him. He’s everywhere! But more importantly, he’s looking for us, and our encounters with him will leave behind a sweet fragrance of the knowledge of him spread everywhere we go.

Works Cited

Chambers, Oswald. “Instantaneous and Insistent Sanctification.” February 8. My Utmost for His Highest. 

Hunt, T. W. and Catherine Walker. Walking in Fellowship with God: Disciple’s Prayer Life. Nashville: Life Way Press, 2000.

Lotz, Anne Graham. Just Give me Jesus. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009.

Tozer, A. W. The Knowledge of the Holy. New York: Harper Collins, 1961. 

Wainwright III, Loudon. “Dead Skunk (in the Middle of the Road).” 1972.

*All Bible Verses are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.