I finished getting ready for the day when a terrible smell drifted through the bathroom. What’s that odor? I know it…wait…SKUNK. I called for one of the boys to find the dog. Carter and I ran outside and the skunkiness hit us like a ton of bricks. But where was the dog?

            We called for him and he quickly appeared. And boy did he stink. My youngest had no idea what had transpired, opened the door, and the dog ran into the house, jumped into my husband’s recliner, and rolled his scent all over the fabric. Not only did the outside air circulate into the house, but now the recliner was covered too.

            We’ve used special remedies to wash the dog, clean the recliner, and “deskunkify” the house. After washing the dog, Carter even washed himself in the anti-stink mixture just to be sure he didn’t have any funk left on him. He even threw away the old clothes he wore while giving the dog a bath.

            Each day since the skunk incident, one of us will catch a hint of it and grab the Febreeze. The orange scented spray only covers the skunk smell temporarily and soon it smells like orange skunkiness instead. No matter how much effort we exert we can’t get rid of the stink.

            It’s like our sin. Its stench is overwhelming and no matter how hard we work to make things right, we will never be able to get rid of the stench of sin on our own. Good works, kindness, serving, and being better than the next person isn’t enough. Believing in God isn’t enough—even the demons believe. Only Jesus can forgive us and set us free from the prison of torment and sin we live in. And only when we confess and repent will we ever know we are ready to accept his forgiveness offered on the cross. He’s the only way to “deskunkify” our life of sin. Period.

            Are you tired of feeling empty? Burdened? Disqualified? Like the skunkiness just won’t leave? Jesus is the only answer. Reach out to me and I’d be glad to tell you more.