I couldn’t resist. I sent this ‘kipper snack’ text to my husband as soon as I grabbed our swag gift of potted possum from the barter bar my boys attended during a 4-H event in Arkansas. I couldn’t wait for the reaction to it, especially the secret ingredients of snoot, nose and tail, but it wasn’t until a couple weeks later that I got to experience the real thing.
“Mom, guess what we just had,” said one of my boys. “Kipper Snacks.” I could smell them before he even finished his sentence. “Oh…great,” I said. It’s a ‘special’ treat for them to enjoy with my husband. He bounced away. When I got downstairs the waft hit me again. “Uh,” I thought the smell just doesn’t go away. I saw left over flakes on the counter and the ultimate evidence of the overwhelming scent…the can. I cleaned it up and kept going. But everywhere I walked I smelled the kipper snacks. It was like I couldn’t wipe the stench away. It was burned in my senses, and couldn’t get a clean scent back in my nostril’s stream of good smelling influence. I thought about the symbolism in my investigating as I was searching for where else to wipe, bleach or sweep. An image actually popped into my head and I saw myself wiping my arms clean with my bleach soaked rag to wipe the stench of my sins off. I wonder if God gets sick of how bad this must stink? I wonder how He doesn’t? It must be a heavy odor, overbearing, and vile. I walked with the thought and image for a moment, but I was quickly redirected. Phrases popped like popcorn through my head. “Your sins were wiped clean. Through my son. There’s no need for you to ever do that. You are forgiven. You will never reek of stench to me. You are my child.” Well, alrighty then…all that from the trash can to the other side of the kitchen. I’ll give it a whole ten feet of divine information. But the phrases are so accurate, and came for a reason. Through the blood of Jesus on the cross, we were Forgiven for all of our sins. We don’t have to ever worry about the stench of our sins when the Lord fills our heart. We are His precious children. I think of my children. How even on their worst diaper days or pig poop covered bodies (We had 4-H pigs. Pig poop happens and when it does it’s usually a good wallowing), I love them with a deep, unconditional mother’s love. So with God…we magnify that love by an infinite, uncomprehendable amount and that’s how much He Love's us and more…through all time, all things, never leaving nor forsaking, no matter our human sin scent. We are forgiven through Jesus’s blood on the cross and our acceptance of Him. Believe and thank Him for allowing our stench to be a sweet perfume to Him.
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