Author: Dewayne Taylor

Southern born. Love God, my wife, family, and a great adventure.
Posted in Family, gratitude, life, Scripture, thankful, Uncategorized

When The Old Becomes New

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 

Just like that it went from blah to beautiful. So for the record I know very little about AI. I am not a member of the AI Fan Club and I really don’t use it very much at all. But I did have a bit of fun with it the other day.  Over the years you have read as I’ve talked a lot about gadgets and technology. Well, the other day, and maybe my wife Judy mentioned it, I decided to ask AI to rework an old photograph that I had. The program I used was Google Gemini. So here’s how it went. I had an old picture of my seven brothers and sisters. It was taken in 1974, at the cemetery, the day my Daddy was buried. It was one of a very few pictures I have of all my siblings–a simple snapshot and the effects of age had left it pretty faded.

I asked the Gemini program to “brighten, sharpen and cleanup” the picture. So, in less than a minute, the retouched photograph showed up on my screen and the results were pretty awesome. Don’t believe it? Well, check it out at the top of the post. Well, that caused me to start looking for some other photographs that were seemingly beyond enjoyment and ask Gemini to fix them up–and time and time again it did. The picture of me in uniform is of a change of command ceremony that I was a part of. Originally it was black and white and again from the 1980’s. Take a look and be amazed at what happened.

I just think all of that is pretty cool…to take something old and make it like new. And, did you know that is exactly what God does with us. In fact, He goes one step further. He doesn’t just make us look better…He makes us new. Paul, the guy in the Bible, wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” Wow…how amazing is that.

So do you think it is time for a fresh start…a new beginning? In fact, maybe you think you were born so wrong the first time you need a new one. No problem because Jesus is the Bible told a guy, “You must be born again.” When it comes to fresh beginnings and new births, well, no one can top God. It is cool that Gemini can retouch a photograph and do what it does but that way pales to what God can and is willing to do. So, go ahead and ask and He will give you that new beginning you’ve been longing for.  After all, He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

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My Friend Joe

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” Psalm 90:12

“Hi.  My name is Joe.”  A couple of years ago, my wife Judy and I took a trip down to the Florida Keys and Key Colony in particular.  The place we stayed in was called the Continental Inn.  It is a bit of old Florida with twenty or so studio condos combined with a small sand beach and a couple of tiki huts.  It is not very crowded, but this was Labor Weekend, and there were more folks there than usual.  Being a small place, it seemed more like family than just a group of people on vacation.  It was there under one of the tiki huts that I met Joe.

Joe, his wife, and her sister and husband were down for a long weekend from Juniper, Florida.  It was the other couple’s anniversary, and they were there to celebrate.  They were sitting near us on the beach, and it wasn’t long before we struck up a conservation.  Day one was more like a “Hey, good to meet you and glad you are here.”  The next day, we were back on the beach and so were they and it was then that I really got to talk with Joe.

He started by introducing himself again.  And then as his story unfolded, I was fascinated.  First, I learned that Joe was a Korean War era veteran.  While he didn’t serve actively in the war, he did volunteer for service during that difficult time.  He chose the Army and proudly served his country.  Being a Korean War veteran could only mean he was up in his years…and he was.  If I remember right, he was about to turn 84.  Thanks for your service, Joe.

Joe used a large walking stick to get around.  He told me on day two, rather matter-of-factly, that he was legally blind.  That explained the stick.  Rather than a white cane he had this large walking stick that came from the Smokey Mountains.  I asked him how much he could see, and he explained that at about five feet away I was just a blob. You can imagine my surprise when he told me how he still drove a three-wheel bike around his neighborhood.  When I asked him how, he simply said he could see some of the sidewalk and most everyone knew him and kinda stayed out of his way.  A little blindness wasn’t going to stop him.  Way to go, Joe.

About then, Joe shared with me that he had stage four prostate cancer that had gone into his bones.  Almost casually, he said, “And of course, I am on chemo.”  What was amazing was that he didn’t see his cancer as a roadblock or a big deal for that matter.  It was simply something that he dealt with—no whining, no complaining.  Nope, Joe wasn’t gonna let a little cancer stop him either.  You’re amazing, Joe.

All the time we chatted (almost like we were discussing the weather and not cancer and blindness) he was constantly smiling and explaining to me how much he loved life.  These speed bumps were just that—bumps on his highway of life.  He told me how much he loved people.  That is probably why he regularly volunteers at the Veteran’s Hospital, helping guys less fortunate than him.  Less.Fortunate.Than.Him.  I think it will be a long time before I forget Joe and his big smile, big heart, and great outlook. 

There’s one more part of Joe’s story.  You see, Joe was a Jesus follower…in fact, all four in the group were.  What made Joe stand out was his gratitude for each day that God gave him.  I couldn’t help but notice that his knees and elbows were covered with bandages and wounds.  I can only guess those came from the times his blindness got in the way and his stick couldn’t save him. After our hour of conversation, I noticed that not one time did he complain about his circumstances. He shared stories of his past with gratefulness and shared his present days with the gusto of a healthy 45-year-old.  And he was confident of his future too…because he was confident in his relationship with the God who made him.

I know I talk about this verse a lot but that is because it means a lot to me.  The author, who happened to be Moses (you might remember him from the time the Red Sea parted), asked God to help us number our days so that we could have a heart of wisdom.  He was saying, “God help us to appreciate every day you give us.”  It was very obvious that Joe did exactly that.  No, I don’t think he was the richest guy on the beach that day…unless you number richness not in dollars but in joy, and happiness and love. Joe bore the scars from many a fall, but he shined with the victories of never staying down.  I didn’t get around to asking but I bet Joe knew the secret to living out his faith in God.  What is that you ask?  It’s knowing and believing three small words…He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in food, gratitude, life, Scripture, thankful, travel

Cruising with the Captain

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

Have you ever taken a cruise? I’m not sure how it all began but a while back, my wife Judy and I decided to take a cruise. If I remember right it began in San Juan, Puerto Rico which was an adventure in itself. We then cruised to several islands in the Caribbean all the while “living” onboard this really big cruise ship. The bottom line?  It was an amazing experience. One of my big hesitations about this cruising thing was being in such a “small” area with 4,000 of my closest friends. As it turned out there was more than enough space for all of us. Through someone cooking our food, making our bed and dozens of other things, well, we joined the cruising fan club.

That was more than a few years ago and we have take more than a few additional cruises. Some of them were five days long and the longest was twenty-five days. And so far it seems we are always up for another one. It just seems to fit our niche especially now that we are retired. I was trying to come up with something to write about when I thought about this. In one aspect the cruise experience, along with the ship and crew, are somewhat like the “Shepherd” experience. Let me explain. Oh, and I’ll go ahead and ask for a little grace.

I know this is a stretch and that’s where the grace comes in. When we board the cruise ship, the cruise line who operates the ship and who hires and trains the crew has a goal…to meet all of our needs and a boat load (pun fully intended) of our whims. The whole cruise experience is designed to make us want to do it all over again. And not just do it all over again but to do it with them. Grace time! So, King David, the one in the Bible and who wrote Psalm 23 said, “The Lord is my Shepherd. I have everything I need.” So here is David writing this great analogy. In one sentence He gets it totally right. When God is our Shepherd…well, we don’t need anything else. He is the great Provider for His Kids. He loves us beyond limit and desires to meet our needs and, yup, a boat load of our desires or sometimes whims.

Ephesians 3:20 puts it like this. “Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Well, there you go. He is a God who can’t stop loving and forgiving, who lavishes us with grace and mercy and who will never stop doing that and more. All of that is why my cruise analogy is pretty weak but I hope it makes us pause and think. So today, I hope you will choose to “cruise” through life with the Captain of your soul and if you can’t call Him that yet–why not do so right now? Once you do, you too can experience the joy of cruising with Him and knowing that, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

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Field of Dreams

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

He asked, “Is this heaven?” The other night I was sitting around and accidentally caught the tail end of the movie, “Field of Dreams.” It is a fantasy movie about a guy who builds a baseball field, and a voice tells him that if he builds it—they will come. Well, he builds it and players from baseball past suddenly start appearing. It is a fun, feel-good movie—especially if you like baseball.

Well, amid all this feel-good stuff, a couple of the players from the past ask, “Is this heaven?” He assures them it is not but rather it is Iowa. To them the ability to play ball again well just felt like heaven. Obviously, they had never been because heaven is way beyond words. With all that said, the other night I fell into food heaven.  Let me explain.  Twenty years ago, some friends invited my wife Judy and I to go to Owensboro, Kentucky to have supper at a place called Moonlight BBQ. As my memory serves me it was somewhere before incredible and heavenly. We enjoyed the food and the company and promised ourselves we would have to make the journey again. Well…we never did.

Now, fast forward twenty years. On my retirement bucket list was to attend an airshow with the Blue Angels and/or the Thunderbirds. On a whim, I searched recently searched airshows only to discover that there was going to be one in Owensboro, Kentucky—just 89 miles from Harrisburg.  What is even more amazing is that Owensboro is a small town to be hosting such a major event.  Well, I told Judy we had to go so we booked a room and made our plans.

It turned out that the airshow, which is on Saturday and Sunday, had a Friday night deal too. At the airport they had several aircraft on display, and you could meet some of the pilots so with Judy’s blessing, I decided I would go to that part too. I went ahead and booked a hotel by the airport and off I went. Well, it turned out rain trashed a major part of the night, so I went ahead to the hotel. I saw a McDonald’s down the road but asked the clerk, “Are there any other restaurants nearby?” He said, “Do you like BBQ?” I said I sure did, and he told me there was a place down the road called…get ready…Moonlight BBQ.

Inadvertently I stumbled into food heaven again. So off I went and what happened next really was a foodie’s paradise. It was a mega BBQ buffet, and everything was just good. There was chopped brisket, ribs, BBQ chicken, pulled pork, fried fish all with all of the trimmings you could imagine. Dessert? Yes sir—seven different kinds of pie with two kinds of cobbler and all with ice cream. It was just about then the analogy from “Field of Dreams” came to mind.  Is this heaven?

Well, of course I know that there is no way anything on this earth can compare to what God has in store for us. But I also know this.  Isn’t it awesome that God created this earth for His creation to enjoy. Take a joy ride though the galaxies and you won’t find anything like what He has prepared here for us. And all of this is just a teaser for the big show He has planned for us in eternity. So, enjoy this but also remember that the best is yet to come. He is the author of all things good because He is good. And because He is good, well, we know, He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

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Rubbish!

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “He does not punish us for all our sins; He does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For His unfailing love toward those who fear Him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” Psalm 103:10-12 

It always amazes me.  At 217, like most homes, we have a trash can in several rooms in our house.  Of course, the main attraction is in the kitchen.  There we have a stainless steel, thirteen-gallon can.  It holds, oh, I’m guessing, about thirteen gallons of trash—bet you saw that one coming, didn’t you?  At any rate, it always surprises me just how fast that can can fill up.  It is only my wife Judy and me in the house and yet we manage to fill it up at least a couple of times a week.  The bottom line is we produce more trash than we think.

Now for part two.  In Judy’s home office, in my home office, in both bathrooms, and in at least one of the bedrooms we have additional trash cans.  Now these don’t fill up quite as fast but guess what?  They do fill up.  So occasionally one of us will make the rounds and gather all the trash from the other parts of the house.  Well, surprise again!  You would be amazed just how much trash we gather.  As we make the rounds, the bag we are carrying gets fuller and fuller and fuller.  And by the time we are done we have a very full and very heavy bag. How about that?

All the trash, whether it is from the kitchen, or the rest of the rooms ends up in the monster size can outside. Once a week, the trash guys drive by the house, grab the can, and dump it into their truck and off it goes wherever trash goes that they collect.  All I know is I am grateful that someone takes care of all my rubbish (that’s a British word I learned while in England) so I don’t have to deal with it anymore.  How about that?

You know it isn’t just physical rubbish that we must deal with in life. The truth is we do a pretty good job of producing life rubbish too.  There are words that should have never been spoken, thoughts that we should not have thought, actions that would have been better undone and that is just the short list. The Bible tells us that we all have done things that are wrong…that are offensive…both to others and to God. Too often we brush it off…excuse it away but the bumps, bruises, and scars on the lives of others don’t go away that easily.  And honestly, God just can’t brush it off either.  But there is hope…big time.

You see God made a way for all the rubbish of our lives to be forgiven.  In fact, He says in His book that all our rubbish can be taken not just to the dump but as far as the east is from the west.  In another place He says they are dumped in the sea…never to be seen again.  You might wonder why God would do that for us.  The answer is one word…love.  God knows we are broken but He just loves to us too much to leave us that way.  That is why He sent His Son Jesus to die in our place on an old rugged cross. 

Then here’s more good news.  No matter what kind of rubbish you have accumulated, no matter if you think it is impossible for anyone to take care of your rubbish…God can…and God will.  All you must do is ask.  Now don’t confuse this with religion or starting this or stopping that.  This is all about His love for you and His amazing grace.  So why not take your rubbish to the curb…right now…today? You can, because “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in gratitude, life, Scripture, travel

Life at the Laundromat

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” Mark 6:34a

I bumped into the real world at a laundromat. We were in Lincoln City, Oregon for the night and it was time to do something normal–we had to wash clothes. Back at 217 that meant a simple trip downstairs to the basement. There were our washer and dryer–again normal for a lot of people. But those were a couple of things that didn’t make our packing list so we had to go to a place we don’t normally go–the laundromat. So we gathered our dirty clothes, searched our GPS for the closest one and off we went. Now we had been to a laundromat before but trust me–it was a long time ago. We had just returned from our assignment in Germany with the Air Force and hardly anything in our house. Our bed and other furniture hadn’t arrived yet and we didn’t own a washer or a dryer.

The GPS led us to the right place and we once again gathered our clothes. We fed the change maker a five dollar bill and it gave us a hand full of quarters. We tossed our clothes in the washer and began the wait for the load to finish. There was a Family Dollar store close by so we wandered over there for a few minutes and then returned to the washing and drying Meca. I found a chair and waited for time to pass and it was then that I started seeing the people. I quickly noticed that the laundromat was an island of hurting people. I didn’t know their stories but it one thing seemed to be apparent. Each person wasn’t there because they wanted to be. They were there because they had to be. For whatever reason they didn’t have the means to wash and dry their clothes in the comfort of their homes.

The expression on their faces and body language all seemed to say, “My life is hard.” One lady who has struggling mentally was washing and drying the same clothes over and over again. A younger couple came in with their clothes stuffed in a bag and he leaned on a cane as he walked. There weren’t a lot of smiles but there sure seemed to be a lot of burdens.

I’ve always knew that my life is largely surrounded by healthy people with decent incomes and Jesus smiles. While I would see people with hard knock lives during my walk about life, I rarely entered their world. The laundromat helped me to not only see but to feel, to experience their world. It was an experience that I hope will lead me to love others and be more open and willing to help others. Let me encourage you to find an island of lostness and hurt and visit there. When you do you can thank God that you are just visiting but you can also ask Him to help you help them. That will probably make Him smile as He replies, “Don’t worry…I’ve got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

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Beautifully Broken

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His grace and kindness toward us.” Ephesians 2:6-7 

Beautifully broken. It sits on the top shelf in the kitchen of our Airbnb. When it was born, probably somewhere in China, it was an attractive clay pot with a small neck and two small handles, one of each side. It began its journey with the Taylors in our home and when we started up our Airbnb, somehow and for some reason, it went to live there. Well, one day we received a text message from one of our guests. She let us know that she had bumped the clay pot, and it had fallen and broken into several pieces.

She was very sorry and even offered to pay for the piece, but we told her not to worry about it. We appreciated her letting us know. After she left, we went over to the Airbnb and there on the counter was the shattered pot—one big piece and several smaller ones. My first thought was to repair it but that lasted about two seconds. My wife Judy and I decided it was best just to let it go.  But then…we looked again.

We discovered that when the pot was laid on its side, it no longer looked like just a broken pot but rather an ancient piece of pottery. It was then we moved it to the top shelf, carefully laid it on its side and allowed it to now play a new role. It went from a rather cheap piece of imported pottery to what appears to be a valuable antique. If my memory serves me right, more than one person has commented on our valuable piece of pottery.

It’s amazing that the pot became more beautiful in its brokenness…something that the Japanese discovered a LONG time ago (late 15th century). They call it kintsugi, where broken pottery is repaired with gold making it more beautiful than before. The pieces are carefully put back together and then the cracks are filled with gold or gold paint. Instead of hiding the imperfections, they choose to call attention to it—and it is indeed beautiful.

Now watch this. In a similar way, God’s grace doesn’t just patch up our weaknesses, our brokenness, rather He transforms them into our most compelling testimony. We become; we are—trophies of grace. Paul describes it this way in Ephesians 2:6-7, “For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So, God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His grace and kindness toward us.” How about that. For all eternity, God will point to us and declare us trophies of this grace.

So rather than hang your head in shame over your imperfections…embrace them. They’re not flaws to be hidden, but opportunities for God’s power to be displayed. In your weakness, His strength shines brightest. Like the kintsugi, we are testimonies, our stories are stories of His marvelous grace. So, lift your head, child of God, because “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in gratitude, heaven, life, Scripture, thankful, travel

Stars and Satellites

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.” Psalm 139:14a

It was silently majestic. We were staying at an Airbnb that overlooked the Columbia River Gorge. This gorge is nationally known for its natural beauty. The Oregon side is steep and mountainous and the home of dozens of waterfalls. The Washington side is more of a steep slope that culminates at the top of a ridge hundreds of feet above the Columbia River. A home on top of that ridge was our home for a couple of nights. Our host had done a wonderful job of decorating the patio area with beautiful flowers in full bloom and comfortable furniture that included a full-length couch that begged to be stretched out on and a plush chair just made for slouching in. It was a little piece of heaven on earth.

Both nights we made it a point to spend the end of our day watching as the daylight slowly vanished and night came on. As darkness arrived—so did the stars with all their majesty. It wasn’t hard to feel and almost hear the heavens singing and shouting the glory of God. There was very little light pollution, so the stars seemed almost as bright as those we experienced in the West Africa wilderness. We were simply amazed. On the first night, I saw a falling star streak across the sky. Amazing.

As the last light of day gave way to the first darkness of night, we began to see something else. Mingled among the stars were satellites, dozens of them, streaking across the sky. While not nearly as amazing as the stars, they still managed to amaze us. Those small dots of reflected light were all shot into space on top of a rocket and traveling in space at 17,500 miles per hour. And that, Grits friends, is the point of the story. First, creation itself declares in unabashed boldness that there is a God and He is amazing in every aspect of His existence. Then comes part two.

I watched in silent amazement as those tiny dots zoomed across the sky. It was then I was reminded that they were created by men. That reminded me that we are not products of evolution but are marvelous creations of God. You see, monkeys and apes don’t make satellites or planes or cars or anything else like that. They may be smart, but they never have been, are not now, and never will be smart enough to do anything like that. Nope…it takes a fearfully and wonderfully made creation like us to do something like that–and even then it is way past amazing.

So as a gentle reminder, all creation reminds us of the great God who loves us, and all this amazing mechanical and technological stuff we’ve put together reminds us that we didn’t come from globs of jelly on a beach or a monkey swinging on a tree. We are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made. Don’t believe it? Just read His Book, and you will clearly see that from day one and before—He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

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Dessert or Desert

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35

Hmmm…I said.  I like to talk, and I guess it can be said I like to write.  When I write I love to use words in special ways.  One of those is playing words off one another—using the same word in the same sentence in a different way. I’ve found that I often bump into words that can dramatically change in meaning by changing just one letter.  Here’s an example. First, we have the word dessert.  Now this is one of my favorite words because of all the images that pop into my mind.  In one corner of my brain, a picture of a perfectly prepared pecan pie appears.  Over in another corner is my daughter’s apple crumb pie.  Oh my, is that good!  Wait, over there is my friend Maggie’s fried pecan pies. And then over there is the dessert display case at my favorite local restaurant.  It is filled with pies, cakes, cookies and cream horns.

Well, now that we are all drooling you can almost taste the word dessert.  Even if you are not a fan of sweets surely it made you salivate just a little.  Now we are going to change just one small letter.  Are you ready?  We are going to go from dessert to desert.  Wait? What?  Yup, just remove one “s” in the word and we go from sweets heaven to the Sahara.  We go from visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads to sand…lots of sand.  Now we are not thinking about pleasure but rather pain.  There is not abundance…there is leanness. Just like the word dessert makes our mouth water…desert makes us thirsty.  And it all happens by removing one small letter.

What is true with words is also true about birds.  I was reading the other day, and it talked about two different kinds of birds.  Even though they are radically different, the bottom line is they are still both birds.  Both defy gravity and fly, and both have feathers.  One is one (there’s that play on words) of the smallest birds in the world and the other is one of the larger ones. One is tiny and cute and the other is large and ugly.  One is a hummingbird and the other is a vulture. Both birds…but both miles apart…just like our words dessert and desert.

One of the ways the birds are different is their eating habits.  The hummingbird spends it’s time zipping around our yard, going from feeder to feeder and flower to flower looking for “dessert.” Their diet consists of a few small sips of sweet, nectar.  The vulture, on the other hand, soars overhead.  He could care less about something sweet—he is looking for his next meal too but his is a “desert” or to put it plainly…something dead.  Both are birds, but both are entirely different.  Their differences may seem big, but really, they are not.  You might say they are separated by a letter or two.

You know, that is true about us.  We really aren’t that different and yet…we are.  Each one of us is uniquely made by God.  You might say we are each handcrafted by the Master craftsman of it all.  An old children’s song that used to float around the Christian music world said, “Look all the world over, there’s no one like me…no one like me.  Look all the world over, there’s no one exactly like me.” God made each one of us different…on purpose.  What a boring world it would be if we were all the same.

Now my intention when I started writing this story was to say how in our world we should be more like the hummingbird and look for sweetness than the vulture who looks for death and decay.  But as I wrote I realized the bigger truth is that we should just be who we are…and allow others to do the same. Skin color, economic status, music tastes, piercings and tats or not…we are all uniquely made.  I wonder how much better the world would be if we learned to love one another.  I mean after all, the biggest sign that a person is a Jesus follower is not if we go to church but if we love other people.  How about that?

So, the next time you are in a bakery…or your backyard…remember that we aren’t as different as we seem.  Rather than judge and criticize, why not go ahead and see people as creations of God. After all,…the Bible does say He loved everybody enough to send His Son to die on a Roman cross…everybody.  And if you happen to know that story…then be sure and spread it around.  It is the best news ever.  And while you’re chatting with that person, be sure and let them know that there is Someone who, no matter what, has it under control.  Tell them that, “He’s got this…no matter what this or that is.”  Bro. Dewayne

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Proximity Promise

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “For I am the Lord your God, who holds your right hand, who says to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13

I just needed to know.  This may cost me my man-card, but it is the truth. When I was a kid—I was afraid—a lot. I was afraid of what might happen, I was afraid of what did happen—or at least the consequences. I was afraid sometimes in broad daylight and many times in the dark—especially in the dark. It was not uncommon for me to lie in bed on a hot Florida night (with no air conditioning), covered up to my nose, listening and waiting for the monsters of the night to come and devour me. Every sound outside my window, every creak on the floor was certainly a sign that they—whoever they were—were coming to get me.

I probably knew in my young mind that monsters weren’t real. I probably even knew that there were no chainsaw murderers lurking in my neighborhood. I knew that we had probably remembered to lock our doors and that would probably keep us safe.  Probably. And I guess it was all the probable’s that caused the problem.

Because of all that, and a whole bunch more, sometimes, many times, I would sneak into my parents’ bedroom and quietly lay down on the floor where I would fall asleep. You see, just knowing that Daddy was close by made everything better. I somehow managed to believe that no matter how big the monster, the threat, my Daddy could and would keep me safe. There was never any doubt that he would do his best to protect us—me. Why? Well, in my limited world, that was just what daddies did. Even if I was bad—he was still there for me.

That all seemed so logical because I believed it. Now for the question that really matters. If I believed that, why do I wrestle with trusting my Dearest Daddy with my present—and future? Why is it that somehow I struggle to believe that if I fail Him—He will fail me? Why do I believe that my performance determines His proximity?  Now there is the root of the problem. Too often we believe that God only sticks around because we get it right and should we not get it right—He is gone.

Well, the truth is that is a lie. You see, God loves us with absolute perfection. He is constant and steady in His affection for us. There is nothing we can do to make God love us more or less, and furthermore there is nothing that we can do to cause Him to abandon us. Once again—His proximity to us is not determined by our performance.  It is based solely on His character as a loving Father.

While we probably won’t be totally free from fear this side of heaven, we can find peace in knowing that our Dearest Daddy is close by—very close by—and nothing is going to change that. So, when the unknown rattles your world, when darkness closes in around you, lay down and take a nap knowing that your Father is close by. No matter what the threat—no matter what the fear—He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne