The other night a friend of mine came home from work after dark.  When he got to his back yard he saw his white cat and began to pet her.  The more he petted her the more she rubbed against his legs and followed him towards to house.  He didn’t remember her being quite so lovey dovey, but kept touching her and talking to her.  She continued to swerve in and out between his legs and pressing against him as a show of affection.

Imagine his surprise when the security light came on and he discovered that he had been cuddling with a young skunk.  His cat was not the object of his affection.  The skunk didn’t seem to be afraid or aggressive.  It just wanted some TLC.  Needless to say, my friend did not continue his petting adventure.

This story caused me to think of all the undesirable, uncouth, and untouchable people we all know.  It doesn’t matter how disgusting they seem to us, they all need to experience love; not only human love, but also the love of Jesus.  I have known people who will actually cross the street to avoid contact with some individual that was unseemly and unkempt.  Would Jesus do that?  I think not!

We all have had times when we were not the nicest or most agreeable people.  We all have experienced things that make us unpleasant or irritable, lonely or desperate.  It is during these times that we need the love of others and of God the most.  A tender touch or a kind word can make all the difference when one is down and out.  A little compassion can drive away despair.  A soft spoken word can reassure a broken heart, that there is hope.

Perhaps that skunk couldn’t put his needs into words, but his non-verbal communications were clear.  He needed some loving and he didn’t care if it came from a person or another skunk.  How often to we clearly see that someone needs a hug or a kind word, and we simply look the other way; we hurry along with our own personal business.

Let’s remember the little skunk and the lesson he brought to us.  It really doesn’t take much effort to be kind and gentle.  It doesn’t take much of our valuable time to encourage another.  It doesn’t cost even a dime to pass along a hug or a smile.  It can make all the difference in the world.