A few weeks ago, I opened my car door, just like I do almost every morning, and instead of a lovely fragrance wafting through the air, it smelled like “poo.”  I mean like someone had intentionally left a “deposit” in my car. 

My first thought was — an animal had climbed in my vents and left me a “present.”  I remembered the time that a dead mouse overtook my car a few years back.  It costed us a pretty penny to have it removed from the ventilation system.  But it was worth the price!   

I was gagging.  So, I rolled down the windows and started looking through my car.  Front, back, trunk, inside of freezer bags (I have a million that I carry with me lol), inside of carrying bags (again, way too many!) but I found nothing.  I was in a hurry to get to work, so I rolled down the back windows (didn’t want to mess up my hair, so the front windows stayed closed! Lol), opened up my roof and hoped for the best.  

While I was driving to work and the outside air was circulating, there was just a very faint odor.  I thought whatever it was, it was gone by now.  I go to work, leaving a slight crack in all the windows, flip my roof open to let some air in, locked the car and went in to work.  Thankfully the weather was cold and not hot! 

Me, being me, I forgot all about my dilemma until I open my car door to get in after work.  That smell was there, and it came back with a vengeance.  I guess it showed me!  I turned the air on high so I could see if the odor was coming from there…it wasn’t.  It had to be inside the car.  I pulled onto the portico and opened all the doors.  

I slid my front seats up as far as they could go so, I could thoroughly check under the seats – NOTHING!  

• Then check under the back seats -NOTHING! 
• I laid the back seats down and check the trunk – NOTHING.  
• I quickly opened the bags (all million of them) – NOTHING.  
• However, I thought the odor was worse in the trunk.  
• I lifted up the rubber protector – NOTHING!  

This was day 2 of this!!

At this point I was overwhelmed, so what is my next move?  I call George (like he could do anything from Gilbert!).  Well, needless to say he was no help.  I asked him if he could find someone to clean my car and maybe they could find the source.  His reply, “Maybe!”  He was busy and had to get back to work and there was nothing he could do anyway.

I sat there almost in tears.  Then I thought I would go home, open up every window and the roof and let it “air out.” And I did, all night long they were opened. 

On to Day 3!

The next morning, I had to go to work and – OH. MY. GOODNESS!  I rolled up the front windows (you know, because of the hair), pulled my sweatshirt over my nose and went to work.  Ugh…it was worse!  I mean —- so much worse.  I went to work and just left everything opened up.  I could not understand it.

I left work and had to stop and get some ingredients to make a Pineapple Delight Dump Cake (soooo good BTW).  I stopped and did my shopping and came out and put my items in my trunk.  The odor WAS coming from there!  But I had checked everything!  The bags, the freezer bags, the rubber floor and underneath it.  But it was there, somewhere.  So, in the parking lot of the store, I just started ripping open everything I could find in that trunk for the 3^rd time!  I went through about 5 freezer bags and then picked up the 6^th one. I felt something “slide” when I picked it up.  I was afraid!  How did I miss it?  Maybe it was just other bag that I sometimes put inside of bigger bags to keep things neater in my trunk.  I slowly opened the 6^th bag, almost expecting something to jump out.  Oh boy, that was it.  That bag held the culprit of my weeklong problem. 

I slowly looked and I saw a bag like you put meats in.  Clear and opened.  I found a roll of ground turkey that was buried deep in the side of the freezer bag.  It had been at least a few weeks since I had gone to the store and had ground turkey on my list!  I do curbside pick-up and bring my own bags, so I didn’t personally know where the workers had put things. But there it was.  

I started thinking, I was looking for ground turkey a few days before in the freezer, thinking to myself that I would have “sworn” that I bought some but couldn’t find it and didn’ t think much more about it.  But there it was!

I wrapped it (gagging like something stupid) tightly in a several plastic bags (until I couldn’t smell it anymore) so I could throw it away.   I got back in my car – sweet peace at last!

WHAT DID I TAKE AWAY FROM THIS?  

As I was thinking about this, I thought about my life.  Sometimes, I “stink.”  Sometimes, there are things in my life that I have put in but have not gotten out.  Sometimes, it is very visible, and I say, “I need to get rid of that!” But what about those times I was in a hurry and didn’t take a complete look, or an inventory, of what I had put in my heart?  Better yet, who have I allowed to leave a “deposit” in my life, and I really didn’t realize what they had left there, but I allowed them in my life.  

• My attitude starts to “stink.” 
• My thoughts start to “rot,” and I think on things that are not lovely, pure, and Christ-like.
• I hurriedly do an inventory of my life to see why the “stink” is there.  I look and do not see those things hidden in a pocket of my heart.  Something that someone else put in and left me with it, and maybe I asked for this person to be in my life.  I didn’t t realize the “stench” until they left. 

I say all the time, be careful who is in your “inner circle” or the “core people” in your life.  You know, those people that are closest to you.  Maybe in ministry.  Maybe you are their mentor.  Maybe those that you have invited into your home and life, and they become toxic to you.

Sometimes, I want to point out, those same people were safe to be around.  They fasted and prayed and served with their whole heart with you.  They were very serious about their walk with Christ, as you all were walking together, doing life together.  

Then somewhere along the way, they changed.  

• They quit fasting, praying, and serving.  
• They started listening to gossip, or even started the gossip, about you, your church, the leadership in your church, maybe your spouse or just other people. Instead of talking to you about it, they talked to everyone else spreading gossip.

Friends do not gossip or listen to gossip, allowing it to hurt the friendship (Proverbs 16:28); Friends stick around even when things get difficult, being reliable (Proverbs 18:24).

You may see something is “off” and, as their accountability person, you have a talk with them to see what is going on. Asking things like:

• What does your personal and corporate prayer life look like?
• What does your personal reading and studying the Word life look like?
• What does your Facebook/IG/Twitter/TicTok posts look like?  Or what have you been watching or following?
• What does your friendship circle look like? Who are you around that you haven’t been for a while but allowed them back in your life, knowing they are toxic/poison to you, especially as a follower of Christ?

Now, all of a sudden, you are not the accountability person that can be open and honest with them.  You are told you are controlling, manipulative, and just plain nosey and it is none of your business what they do.  

James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Hmmmm… but you had been given permission, from them, to help them grow from being an immature Christian to a strong soldier of Christ.  To ask those questions and help them pray through the problem.  To ask what the Word of God says about what they are doing, who they are hanging out with, what they are watching/reading, or who they have allowed to put gossip in their ears!

Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

Now, you see where the “stink” in you came – they left a “deposit” in you, and you didn’t realize it until you were doing your own personal inventory and started talking to YOUR accountability person.  Maybe you allowed them to repeat gossip to you thinking they needed to “vent” to someone. 

Romans 14:12  So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

SIDE NOTE: We all need someone in our life that we give permission to be honest with us. They can help us when we are weak.  That can see us when we stray away and gently bring us back to Christ, in love.  Someone that we can vent to when things are not going like they should.

Luke 17:3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,

My life lesson from this is – GET THE STINK OUT OF YOUR LIFE!  Breathe clean air again.  Read, pray, journal, go back to church regularly, go to those prayer meetings and Bible studies.  Keep your close friendships with people who are more spiritually mature and growing with you.  

IT DOES MATTER WHO YOU LET SPEAK INTO YOUR LIFE.  Be careful.  Paul warned us! 

HUNGER AND THIRST FOR JESUS AND ONLY JESUS

LET’S PRAY (In your own words)

Lord,

Let me be a sweet frangrance to you. You said that our (own) righteousness is like filthy rags – used and stinky – I want YOUR righteousness. I want YOUR scent to carry with me and everyone who is near me will smell the fragrance of the Lord.

Help me choose my friends and my accountability person wisely. Send me Godly people to hold me to the standard of the Holy Spirit. Help me to not be offended because of You.

Thank You for the cross, thank You for forgiveness, thank You for loving me when I cannot even love myself.

I love You and honor You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen