Cartoon versus reality

On my screen saver I have Pepe Le Pew. At this age, I know I should be a little more sophisicated but I love Pepe Le Pew. The artist in me loves the contrast of black and white....the mother in me recognizes the mischievous but yet innocent look on his face ( kind of like my children at certain ages in their lives)...the child in me laughs at his antics (and the fact that he gets away with them)...the adventurer in me dreams of far-away people in far-away places when he speaks with the foreign and mysterious accent that he has been given....and yes, the romantic in me blushes every time he amorously pursues the unattainable (not sure that's a word but you get the point).

Hang in there with me...I know at this point you are thinking that I don't have enough to do...that I need to get a life...and "how old is this woman!?". After all, you have read this far so maybe I have hooked you! When I was sitting at the desk with the computer on, and was gazing into the face of good old Pepe, this came to me......

All the things in the first paragraph are feelings and there is another side...take a REAL skunk...their coloring might look great but, the fact of the matter is that, they can emit a horrible foul smell that clings to you for almost life, or seems like it, if you have ever been sprayed by one. Just passing by their road kill can cause me to gag and turns my stomach for miles. They are also pesky... skunks dig holes in lawns and golf courses, eat your garden produce, prey on poultry and waterfowl, damage beehives, den under buildings,and are a host for rabies. That sure ain't my dreamland Pepe. Okay, so we are having an animal lesson. No....(but the homeschooling teacher is never far away)!

It came to me that this funny, amorous, cutie-pie of a skunk can be alot like sin! This being the beginning of Lent and all, I have been thinking about looking real deep into my heart and also examining my motives. Sin can be alot like how I see good old Pepe Le Pew. We can turn from the reality of sin, we can look cock-eyed at sin, we can pretend that what we are doing, even if we know it is sin, is really something different. Kind of like I look at the cartoon version of Pepe instead of looking at the real animal a skunk is.

There might be sin in our lives that we think is not hurting anyone....like looking at a skunk and calling him "sooo cute" when he is really running around with rabies and rabies is no prize! Or there could be sin in our lives that is keeping us from bearing fruit...just like that presky skunk that is in our garden eating all the vegetables. We want to produce a garden full of wonderful fruit. We do not want the fruit to be eaten away by sin. What about the sin that preys on our relationships...our children, spouses, family and friends!? There is our cartoon, we can fool ourselves and say we are just being bold, suave, aggressive...but is that sin like that old skunk, lying in wait to prey on waterfowl and poultry. Or maybe there is sin in our lives that is pushed down deep within us and has made a home for itself, moved in and become comfortable. We are pretty comfortable with Pepe and his amorous pursuits but maybe there is sin in us like a real skunk that has burrowed in us and has made a den for himself....settled in, taken over a part of our hearts.

These are the ways sin can look different from the reality....just like the cartoon versus the real life animal. So during these next forty days, take a good look...look hard and deep. Pray and most of all listen. Listen for the Lord to reveal to you the sin that needs to be outrooted, exposed, uncovered to be what it is and then repent and turn from it. This Lent, let's uncover the reality of the sin in our life....then we can look at Pepe and see him for what he is ...just one really cute, funny and amorous cartoon character and just that!