Wow! what is that smell?  The source of the offending odor was my little dog who just came in from outside.  He was a 5lb. dog with 10lbs of stink.  He chased my family from the room with his scent most foul.   So I quickly scooped him up, placed him the sink and washed his offending aroma away.   What was left was a clean fresh scented little dog we all love and with a spritz of frebreeze - we could all rejoin in the family room.

As I glanced at our big dog, I noticed that his white wasn’t so white.  He looked dingy.  He didn’t smell and there was no obvious “dirt” but there was cast of gray that clung to him.  So he was next in line for a bath.

As I thought about my dogs, I remembered about our first dog.  He was a scuffy little guy.  He had a mottled coat with colors from gray, red, brown, blonde and black.  His coat was coarse with a soft underside.  But you could never tell he was “dirty”; until you reached in his coat and could feel the grit and grime that clung to him.

As I traveled further down that thought path in my brain; I soon realized how much like my dogs - past and present- I am.  I too have times when I am dingy, or have “grit & grime” hidden but clings closely to my skin.  I have times that my aroma is most foul and offending to my Master and those around me.

But each type of “dirt” - there is a deeper meaning:

The scent most foul that clings to us and coats us; is because we choose to roll in it.  We chose to “stink”.  We saught it out and lathered ourselves with it.

The “dingy” - or cast of gray that clings and colors us, happens just by living this life.  We cannot go through our day and not be affected or touched by the “dirt” that continually circles around.  It clings to us without us even really noticing.

The “hidden grit” - We know it is there.  We can feel it on our skin, but to the “outside” we come across clean and fresh. But in truth, it affects our behavior and causes us to be “scratchy”, irritable and miserable.

For each of these, I have had many times when my Master (Jesus) picked me up when I come to him and despite my lbs. of stink; my ’dinginess” or “grit”.  He held me close and gently washed my foulness away.  He loves what lies beneath the grit, the grime and the stench most foul. He wants to share his life with us and enjoy our company. So… He loves us beyond the “dirt” and with a shot the air becomes a sweet aroma of fresh peace.