Don’t Worry About Tomorrow

July 12, 2026

Yesterday evening I went outside to fill up my lawnmower with gas. As I walked closer to the mower, I began smelling the unmistakable smell of a skunk. I said to myself, “Self, a skunk walked nearby not too long ago.” As I got closer to the mower, the smell became stronger. When I got to the mower, I looked down and saw a skunk tail lying underneath the grass chute on the mower. Apparently, the little skunk crawled underneath the chute and died. Removing a dead skunk from underneath the lawnmower was not on my to-do list yesterday. I put on a pair of gloves, picked it up by the tail, and carried it to a patch of weeds and blackberry briars, where the little skunk found its final resting place. Being a preacher and all, I thought I should say something over the dearly departed, so I said, “I’m sorry this happened to you, little one.” Walking back up the hill, I began to feel a little bit guilty for saying that because when I first picked up the skunk by the tail, I was able to see it was a female skunk, and I thought to myself, “Well, that’s one less skunk to have to deal with, and at least this one won’t be having a bunch of baby skunks.”  I suppose I wasn’t totally sorry that the young skunk met her demise, but dying under a lawnmower all alone is kind of sad, skunk or not. As I thought about that little skunk and having to move it out from under the lawnmower, I started thinking that there are a lot of unexpected things that pop up in our lives. Some are pleasant surprises, like seeing friends at Walmart, or maybe a refund check from the insurance company where you overpaid the doctor. On the flip side, some of these unexpected occurrences are unpleasant, like finding a dead skunk or getting ready to go to work and finding the car battery dead. Maybe that’s what Jesus meant when he told us not to worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34). So fellow traveler, as you face today, just keep on walking, one step at a time. Oh, and take a pair of gloves with you because a skunk might be just around the bend.

Be Blessed and then go be a Blessing . . . Bro. Andy