Signs of Expiration

Milk doesn’t expire all at once.
It changes slowly, then surely.

At first, it’s subtle—a slight shift in smell. Not strong enough to alarm you, but enough to make you pause. You might swirl the carton. You might lean in closer. You might even ask someone else, “Smell this—does this seem off to you?”

That’s how expiration works in the spirit too.

Before something becomes visibly wrong, it becomes internally altered. And if we ignore the early signs, what was once nourishing becomes dangerous the longer we keep it.

We don’t fight to keep spoiled milk. We don’t try to use it anyway. We don’t pray over it. We discard it—because we understand that holding onto it puts us at risk.

Spiritually, the warning signs often show up like this:

1. The fragrance changes.
   Conversations feel different. The atmosphere shifts. What once felt life-giving now feels heavy, tense, or draining.

2. What was once smooth becomes choppy.
   Flow turns into friction. Connection feels clumpy, distorted, forced. What used to work effortlessly now requires strain.

3. The consistency no longer matches.
   Values, vision, and alignment shift significantly. What once fit now feels off—no matter how much you shake it.

And here’s the danger:
The longer expired milk sits in the refrigerator, the more toxic it becomes. Not because it started bad—but because it stayed past its time.

Expiration always speaks before it shouts.
But when we ignore the whisper, we eventually face the consequence.

The question isn’t whether something has changed.
The question is whether we’re willing to acknowledge it—and release it—before it harms us.

Original writing by MaShani Allen

© 2025 MaShani Allen | The Golden Scribe Ink