God Thru Me .com

Skunkel Alert

When Greg and I were dating, we went through a phase where we added “el” on to everything. After dinner, we ate “dessertsel”. When something great happened it was “fantasticel” and we would “sweatsel” when we would go skating with the kids.

Some of those have stayed with us, Greg will always be my “Babels” and I his. We also find ourselves, when we are driving down the highway and you see that easily recognizable black and white animal on the side of the road, holding our noses yelling “Skunkel Alert!!!” We test the air by taking short little sniffs. If we find it to be contaminated, we make the appropriate moans and groans.

This got me thinking about what enters people’s minds when we enter a room. Do you think people are happy to see you? Are you like the smell of baking cookies or a mouse that died in the wall?

How we treat others, our attitudes and our outlook play a part of how we are responded to. These things create our aroma that the world smells. These aspects of our personalities require constant honing and attention.

Do you treat others kindly? Even the people we do not get along with or maybe do not like very much are deserving of our love and kindness. We are not here to pick and choose whom we are to love. We should treat everyone the same.

How is your attitude? When you walk into a room, do you look to a room full of genuine smiles and hugs? Or do you see a group that would really rather you not be there? Are you a pleasant person to be around? Do you take the time to talk to people and really listen to what they have to say? Do you truly care about the people in your life?

What about your outlook? When you strike up conversation with others, are they hanging on your every word, or do they struggle to listen to your complaining and negativity? I believe a lot of us do not realize that we are being negative when we are. It seems as though we all know someone that does nothing but complain. They complain about their husbands, their children, their jobs or school. You get to the point where you do not want to talk to them. You may try to lift them up and add something positive to their lives, but it never seems to take.

What I want to encourage you to do today is this: Be the person that when you walk into a room, people light up at the sight of you. They rise and hug you. They have a smile all the way to their eyes. I pray that you do not see faces that want to scream at the top of their voice “Skunkel Alert!!!!”