I can smell opossums.
This lifted me to high standing with childhood friends Billy and Bobby. One of their chores was to traipse through the woods and set traps to catch possums for dinner. I would tag along and tell them where to place the traps. After they caught the critters, I would get money from home, buy the possums from their dad, and then release them in our woods. This made everyone happy—especially the opossums.
Being alert to strong smells comes in handy for more than setting possum traps. Recently, I received a Facebook friendship request which I almost accepted—because the person was reportedly from Bandera, Texas—Cowboy Capital of the World, and home of my heart.
Something about the request emitted a foul odor, but I couldn’t figure out what.
When I get a FB request I always check to see: that the person has posted personal information like place of residence, education, etc.; that at least some of the posts are recent; that the posts do not include profanity or other objectionable content, and that the profile picture is not followed by pictures reportedly of the person who made the request—but pictures that do not match the profile picture and are “flirty,” or self-aggrandizing. This FB request passed all those checks—but I smelled possum.
Finally I found the critter hiding in the woods. The person was a Wicca. A hidden post endorsed witchcraft. At first I was insulted. A Wicca in Bandera, home of my heart? That couldn’t be true! However, good and bad can be found everywhere, and Bandera—as wonderful as it is—is not perfect…because people live there…and people are not perfect.
I am not perfect. I am saved. I will be going to heaven when I leave this earth. But I am not perfect. If people on FB or other media deleted everyone who was not perfect—I would be one of the first deleted.
The ability to smell possums is a valuable skill. Everyone can develop it. We just need to allow God’s Holy Spirit to live in our hearts and work through us.
“Discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil.” Proverbs 2:11.Amazon.com: Stephanie Parker McKean: books, biography, latest update
Stephanie Parker McKean 
Good article. Yes, there is all kinds of spiritual warfare here in our precious Bandera. The good news is that God is moving here, too.
My church, Medina Community Church, prays every week for the area. We are growing in number and spiritual maturity. Since we disaffiliated from the UMC, we have doubled in size, but more importantly the growth is from young families.
Keep praying for us. You and your husband are in my prayers.
Sherry Lucas
Will do, Sherry! Thanks for your prayers. I am so thrilled to hear your good news. God bless you.
For people wanting to “friend” me on social media, I do the same thorough check. Sometimes I miss the mark, but most of the time I can tell if they are the real thing or not by their profile. If I find out later that they are not what they represented themselves to be, I delete the friendship. None of us are perfect, but hanging out with possums is not what we as Christians want to do. The smell will rub off. Hopefully in the time it takes for me (or you) to discover they are not the type you want to associate with, they will have heard the Gospel. Thanks for the article, Steph. Good writing and thinking.
Thanks, Sharon. God bless you.
I rarely accept new friends on FB, Steph. I only accept requests from people I’ve already had contact with on groups, mostly writers and readers. However, I also check them out carefully too. My criteria may be different, but the essence is the same. I have to feel their goodness/ decency in the things they post or the comments they make.
Thanks, Val. You are so right; their goodness and decency display themselves in their posts and the comments they make. Have a great summer on the water. God bless.