Trust in the LORD with all thine heart
and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him,
and he shall direct thy paths.  Pro 3:5-6 KJV

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Considering that Leland and I had only known one another for 7 weeks when we got married, you might think there could be some trust issues. While we’d worked together off and on at work (he was a contract engineer who came and went when he had a contract to work; I was a permanent employee), it was more of a “Hi, how are ya” in passing work relationship.

A day or two after we married, he went on night shift for a few weeks.  We ended up swapping diskettes (remember those?) wherein we’d written notes to one another.  He’d leave one on my desk and I’d answer and leave it in my drawer for him to pick up that evening.

That time was actually pretty valuable because the notes were very informative. We really got to know one another. There is something about writing that brings out things you may not feel free to say verbally. I learned who he really was deep inside.

A month after we married, his current contract ran out and he put in for another. At that time, he’d go to bed and I would sometimes stay up reading awhile. The night before his next contract started, I was up reading. This evening is etched in my memory forever.

It was quiet. It was 1:00 a.m. I was reading a murder mystery. Suddenly, I heard this skritching noise. I should interject here that we were in the process of remodeling the living room and were taking down the cheap Styrofoam-type ceiling tile. The ceiling slanted upward toward the huge fireplace chimney and at the tallest part of the ceiling, the tiles were gone and it was simply insulation with the brown backing paper facing down.

Back to skritching. I heard it and froze. I mean, I’m in the middle of a murder mystery book here! I looked up to the point in the ceiling that I heard the noise, to the side of the chimney. Dread built in me. It made that noise all the way across the ceiling to a point farthest from me (thank God). Then I heard a scrabbling noise and something fell from out of the ceiling.

All I saw was the back of this something. This something was black. This something had a white stripe going down its back. Before that something EVER hit the floor, I had already shot up off the couch and run full force to the bedroom.

I burst in the bedroom. I tried to be calm. Thank goodness Leland wakes up pretty swiftly if I just call his name.

“Hon, Leland, babe, hey, wake up.”

“Huh, what? What’s the matter?”

“A skunk fell out of the ceiling.”

“Um, WHAT?”  I’m sure he first thought it was a joke or something.

“A skunk fell out of the ceiling, through the insulation.”

I will give him credit. He moves FAST when it is necessary. He didn’t ask any more questions or waste anymore time. He jumped up, grabbed his jeans, pulled them on and said to me firmly as he’s shutting the door, “I will take care of this. Do NOT move. Do NOT leave this bedroom no matter what. Stay here and do NOT move, got that?”

I am not stupid.

I said, “NO problem!” I sat on the side of the bed praying. I realize that he starts his new contract tomorrow. If he gets sprayed with a skunk, he won’t be going in to work. No worky, no money. If the living room gets sprayed by a skunk, there will be no living in this house for awhile, either. 

I can’t hear anything. The living room isn’t that far from the bedroom, but there are no noises, no yells, no screams, no anguished “Oh my gosh NO!” cries going on. This should be a good thing.

In a little bit, he opens the bedroom door unaccompanied by the scent of eau ’de skunk.

“OK,” my conquering hero states, “it’s all taken care of.”

Wow, what? It’s gone? I ask and he shows me what he did. It was a brilliant God-idea that protected all!  Skunk walked right out of the house.

Later on my hero said to me how grateful he was that I instantly did what he asked without question or argument. It gave him the ability to concentrate on what needed to be done without distraction. He appreciated that I trusted him to take care of the problem.

The truth is, if we will just learn to trust God the way I learned to trust Leland in the skunk debacle, our lives will be stink-free, too. Well, you know what I mean. I spent time reading Leland’s letters, thus getting to know the heart of Leland. If we spend time reading our Bible and spending time with God, we will learn His heart, too. 

If we do what He says to do, trust He has our best in mind, and believe that, He has so much good for us. God states that if we are “willing and obedient, we will eat the good of the land” (Isaiah 1:19). I like how the BBE translation states it – “If you will give ear to my word and do it, the good things of the land will be yours;”. I was willing and obedient and was saved from the mess of a skunk in my house.

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Pro 3:5-6 MSG  Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for GOD’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.

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