The Stinking Stench Of Skunk Mentality
By: Stacey Bryan
Date: 9-30-2024
I awoke again today to another distant memory, actually two thoughts from long ago, and one phrase from the Lord, “The stinking stench of skunk mentality”. Okay, Lord, what does all of this mean??? Both memories were from my time living in Nashville, Tennessee, so it is necessary for me to give you the full context of why I moved away because it’s important to this word.
The context….
You’re never quite prepared for how quickly your world can change in a split second. There honestly isn’t a word that adequately describes the rollercoaster of emotions you feel. You’re simply left to pick up all the broken pieces and salvage what little is left of your heart in the aftermath of the tornado of torment. My world turned upside down when my Superman was killed in an auto accident in December of 2002.
I had been working with my parents in the family insurance business, and my mom and I tried to keep it afloat for as long as possible without him. We made it a little over two years.
Running a small business is challenging enough as it is, but add to that the pressures of grief, and tempers fly. To add even more tension, there were three hurricanes that blew across the state our last full fiscal year of business. Most everyone in our entire book of business had some sort of damage that needed our attention so our workloads were overflowing like a tidal wave. Working around the clock, we just took breaks to sleep or go to church, and then return to the office. It was brutal!
One Friday in November, I had had enough. I left the office. I was just done… Needing a break, I couldn’t take one more thing. Long story short, I drove up to Nashville, and returned as a Tennessee homeowner. Maybe a move would help? I didn’t know what else to do. I had tried everything.
Somehow I thought a change of geography would stop all the emotions I was shoveling through. It didn’t. I repeat, it didn't. All I changed was my address. I packed up every single shattered piece of my broken heart and put it on that Pod just like the rest of my personal effects. Every emotion. Every memory. Everything went right with me to Tennessee.
As you can imagine, I wasn’t prepared nor did I have a plan. I just picked up and moved to a strange city. My closest family was around two hours away. I was isolated and alone. No friends. No job. No church. Just me, the grief, and my broken heart.
It didn’t take me long to create a family of my own. Little Man Jake Bryan, a fawn and white Shih Tzu, became the man of the house. Followed a little later by his sister, Jordan Bryan, a solid white Shih Tzu, who also answered to Baby Girl. Let’s face it, I needed someone to talk to in the aloneness of finding who I was in Christ.
So that’s the context of my move. Now to the first memory.
My Aunt Lila lives south of Nashville, and she called me frantic about my safety. I had recently moved into my new townhome, and she just didn’t know if I was ready to live in THE BIG CITY all by myself. I don’t think she thought I could make it for very long. If I’m honest, that was probably the thoughts of most of my family and friends. I was used to being taken care of, and you might even say, I was a little rotten.
Aunt Lila called trying to give me a quick lesson of country life, “You’re up there all by your lonesome. You don’t know a thing about living in the country. How in the world are you gonna’ know what to do if somethin’ bad happens? Do you even know what a polecat is?”
I had no idea what a polecat was, but it had to be unquestionably horrific the way she made it sound. The worst thing I had considered coming across was a rattlesnake. Somehow I felt short-changed not knowing how to adequately fight off this “polecat” thingy. Suddenly, I was getting a little nervous. Maybe I should have gone with pitbulls instead of Shih Tzus?
“Aunt Lila, I’ve heard of a polecat, but I don’t really know what it is. Daddy used to mention them, but he never told me what they were.”
As fear gripped her, “Oh Lawd….Oh Lawd…. Girl, you ain’t gonna make it. Let me try and describe it to you. Well, let’s see. They’re a little bigger than a rat, and they have a furry tail on ‘em like a squirrel. Does that sound familiar?”
“Nope, not really….”
“Oh Lawd, help us, Lawd. Let’s see. Let’s see. Um, they’re black and they have this white stripe going down their back to the tip of their tail.”
Shocked and bewildered, I said, “Are you talking about a skunk?”
She said, “Yeah, that’s what you city people call ‘em. Up here, in the country, we call ‘em polecats. You know you should never go ‘round one of those, dontcha?”
Giggling a little too much, I said, “Yes ma’am, I know to stay away from skunks.”
“Well you better keep plenty of tomato juice on hand just in case you ever get sprayed.” Aunt Lila said with a chuckle….
“I will. I will. Next time I go to Walmart, I’ll pick up some tomato juice.”
Follow me…Now to the second memory.
Right before I went to sleep each night, I would let the dogs out one final time. I always went to the front door and just stood on the porch and waited for them. I never used a leash unless we were going on a long walk, because Jake and Jordan were well-trained and obeyed my every command MOST OF THE TIME.
Jordan, my prissy baby girl Shih-Tzu complete with top-knot and pink ribbons, was my ferocious watchdog who would patrol and attack anything that entered my yard. I was always quick to pick her up, because she would tear off at a moment's notice to defend her mama. Jake, on the other hand, was afraid of his own shadow. If anyone even thought about coming close to him, he’d run towards me so that I WOULD PROTECT HIM.
This particular night, it was cold out. It hadn’t been snowing but it was bitter cold. I was half-asleep and ready for Jake and Jordan to make their deposits and come back quickly when I noticed something in the distance. At the very end of the yard, I saw something white. What was that? As I was squinting, everything finally came into perfect focus, and I saw a family of skunks. There were about 6-8 of them ranging in all sizes. They were right at the very end of my yard where the tree line and creek began.
My first thought was “Lord, I don’t have any tomato juice in the house. Please no, just no.”
I rushed to pick up Jordan first or else she’d run off chasing these would-be robbers away before 911 could arrive. Never did I ever dream that Fraidy Cat Jake would go into full attack mode barking at the top of his lungs and charging straight towards these skunks.
I yelled a blood curdling scream that woke every neighbor in our building, “JAKE BRYAN, GET IN THIS HOUSE RIGHT NOW!!!! RIGHT NOW!!!!”
Thankfully the Lord shined down all of His grace and mercy on us, and Jake stopped dead in his tracks. Before I could even get the complete screech fully out, he did a complete turnaround, and we quickly ran into the house. We were safe in the comfort of our own warm home ready to go to sleep and get rest. All the while the skunks were still scavenging outside looking for their next victim.
The Word Of The Lord Through Revelation
Is 34:11 The Message
Vultures and skunks will police the streets; owls and crows will feel at home there. God will reverse creation. Chaos! He will cancel fertility. Emptiness!
I hear the Lord say, “It’s time to shake off the stinking stench of skunk mentality that has tried to hold you back from the plan and purpose I have for your life. I am a God of Vengeance, a God of Recompense, A God of the Turnaround. Get ready, you’re standing at the verge of an earthshaking ABOUT FACE.”
I’ve given you My Covenant and My Promise. Am I a God that lies? Will My Word return void? Never! I know it looks dark and cold, and you think you’ve lost EVERYTHING. I know it doesn’t look like there’s anything worth salvaging in the mess and distress, but I will use ALL THINGS for your good. Every. Single. Thing. Even the brokenness and despair.
It looks like all you have left are the broken pieces of your heart. You’ve even asked Me, Lord, what can You do with these? You feel the pain and emotions of the broken pieces. I’ve heard you say, “It’s impossible to mend me, because my heart is irrevocably shattered. My best was in the past and now my future is a wasteland.”
You even feel like you’ve wasted your time and your talent. It’s like you’re living at a place where everything as you know it has turned upside down. You feel surrounded. You feel stuck in the stench. The skunks are burrowing and scavenging through every dark place in your life keeping you isolated, alone, and drenched in despair. You're living in TOTAL DEVASTATION and you long for peace.
You’ve had so much stolen from you. Nothing and no one seems like they’re on your side. It’s like every time you strike out in faith, you hear the sound of the rattles before you feel the deadly sting of the venom attacking your body. It’s that serpent again. Not again! The stinking stench of your shame and misery is calling forth the vultures. They’re flying overhead ready to swoop down when you breathe your last breath ready to feast on your rotting carcass.
Listen carefully, I wanted to draw in the serpent, the skunk, and the vulture. They needed to come in close because Judgment is Mine. All the while, I have protected you from becoming their next victim. There was never a time that My Hand of Protection was removed from you. No longer will they sit back and celebrate death and darkness. I want them to have a front row seat to your victory. They’ve seen your sorrow. They’ve heard your cries, and they’ve been celebrating their win. Now, it’s time they see My Power.
In the middle of the darkness, you’ve made a complete ABOUT FACE. The darkness is where my full plan could be revealed to you. You’ve made the sudden change in direction. You’ve made the sudden change in attitude. You’ve chosen me through it all, and you carry My Authority and Power to change the atmosphere of any room you walk in.
Now watch how I break through the darkness. You’ve run quickly to My Light. You’re safe because I AM your Mighty Fortress. I AM your Strong Tower. I AM your Shield and Defense. It’s time to rest in My Safety and Comfort. It’s time to rest in My Light. Watch Me be God!
Watch for My Judgment is at hand. I AM a God of Vengeance. I AM a God who brings every bit of darkness to light. Nothing hidden will remain. Every plot, plan, and strategy will be uncovered and brought down. I will completely eradicate every serpent, skunk, and vulture that has come against you. They will be cursed with chaos, confusion, and humiliation until they no longer remain. They will be wiped away.
I AM a God of Recompense. You have made it through the turmoil to the turnaround. Now, it’s time you are repaid with interest for the pain and suffering you’ve gone through on the battlefield. You’ve stood face to face with the Enemy never changing your direction or backing down in fear. You kept marching on. You kept fighting. You kept believing. For the hell you have survived, you have the blessing of the hundredfold.
The stinking stench of skunk mentality could not penetrate you. It was washed away by My Blood. By My Ultimate Sacrifice. By My Cross.
You carry the fragrance of the Mind of Christ. You carry the sweet scent of sacrifice, surrender, and obedience to Me. You carry the unchangeable aroma of victory. Walk boldly into endless triumph as grace upon grace is poured out over the purpose, plan, and destiny of your life. You are chosen, anointed and appointed to accomplish My Plan. You know My Truth, and I abide in You always.
2 Cor 2:14-17 TPT God always makes his grace visible in Christ, who includes us as partners of his endless triumph. Through our yielded lives he spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere we go. 15 We have become the unmistakable aroma of the victory of the Anointed One to God —a perfume of life to those being saved and the odor of death to those who are perishing. 16 The unbelievers smell a deadly stench that leads to death, but believers smell the life-giving aroma that leads to abundant life. And who of us can rise to this challenge? 17 For unlike so many, we are not peddlers of God’s Word who water down the message. We are those sent from God with pure motives, who speak in the sight of God from our union with Christ.
Blessings!
Stacey Bryan