Category: Grace

Posted in Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, loving others, thankful

The Underwear Fairy

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.” Song of Solomon 2:15

She did it again. I know you have heard about the Tooth Fairy and probably your Fairy Godmother, but have you ever heard about the “Underwear Fairy?”  I am fairly certain this is not a one-house deal.  I haven’t researched it extensively but from what I can gather this behind-the-scenes, mythical being shows up in houses across America and possibly around the world.

It goes something like this.  Everyone has routines and mine looks something like this.  Wakeup, coffee with the weather guy on our local channel, quiet time with God, more coffee, exercise (sometimes), breakfast, nice hot shower and get dressed for the day.  Part of that getting dressed thing involves the unmentionables of the underworld—underwear. And here is where it gets amazing.

Every day I open a drawer in my bathroom and behold there are underwear in there.  I grab them up, put them on and bam out the door I go. Amazing.  As the days pass, the supply gets lower and lower.  And then out of the clear blue sky the drawer is full again and the process starts all over again.  I couldn’t really figure this out till one day it dawned on me.  There must be an “Underwear Fairy” who washed, folded, and put my unmentionables right in my drawer.  Without reward, without asking, day after day and week after week, it happened.

It took a while, but I finally decided to find out who this mythical person was.  So, I camped out in my shower behind the curtain like a kid waiting on Santa Claus. And sure enough, I heard the sound of a drawer sliding open and jumped from behind the curtain and yelled, “Got you!” And what did my wandering eyes should behold?  An old guy in a red suit with eight tiny reindeer? No, that would have been weird.  A bunny rabbit with a basket? Weirder. Nope.  It was my wife, Judy.

Yup…all along it was her.  She would go and get the dirty clothes basket out of my closet, carry those clothes down three flights of stairs, throw them into the washer, go back down later and throw them in the dryer, go back down later and get them out of the dryer and take them upstairs and fold them.  She would then sneak into my bathroom and quietly fill my drawer with my drawers and tee shirts.  Amazing.  And here is the crazy part.  She has been doing this for almost 48 years.  I can’t believe it took this long to catch her.

Well, that is how I came to discover the “Underwear Fairy” and that is also how I came to begin to learn something.  While all of us appreciate the big things people do for us, sometimes, maybe a lot of the time, it is the small things that matter.  Since this discovery it is not uncommon for me to say my wife, “Judy, the “Underwear Fairy” came.” And hopefully that is followed by a thank-you and maybe even a kiss.

I really had to weigh it carefully if I could write about underwear.  I even asked the fairy herself if she thought I could.  She wasn’t sure.  Well, it wasn’t a matter of could…it was a matter of should.  Each day our lives are filled with the small things that people do for us…things we take for granted.  Why not take a moment today and say thank you.  If your husband takes out the trash, or the kids’ pick up the house, or one of the guys at the office buys donuts or any of a thousand things…say thanks.  Learn to appreciate the small things.

Tucked away in the Song of Solomon in your Bible (That is one of the books the preacher never preaches from. You might need the table of contents.) are these words, “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.”  The little foxes can be those missed opportunities when we take others for granted resulting in ingratitude. Relationships can grow stale and love can whither on the vine if we fail to water them with gratitude. Remember that.

Perhaps you might need to stop and look for the fairies and foxes in your house, your neighborhood or where you work.  Be sure and thank those around you that make your life just a little easier.  And for sure if you see the fox of ingratitude—“shoot that thing.” Oh, and on your list, be sure you have God at the top of the list of things to be grateful for.  Every day from sunrise to sunset and beyond He is working behind the scenes and writing you love notes with acts of mercy and kindness.  Things like letting you rest in Him.  Things like letting you know, “I’ve got this.”  And He does.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, Military memories, prayer, priorities, Scripture, Southern born, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials

Forty

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.” Lamentations 3:22-23

It was a crazy consequence…or was it. I was sitting at the computer trying to figure out what to write. I thought about the eclipse, but I hit that a couple of days prior and it was rapidly disappearing in the rearview mirror, and it wasn’t due to reappear in our area for another 375 years.  I’m pretty sure that none of us, or the sun, moon, and earth for that matter, will be around for that one! So, after pondering for a few minutes, I realized that something important had happened in my life and I should share.

On Sunday, April the 7th, I shared with the church family that I was planning on starting the next chapter in our Jesus journey. I would be stepping down as Senior Pastor after 24 years.  Oh, it wasn’t a sudden decision. Judy and I had been praying and talking and talking and praying about it for more than a few months and we felt it was time for us to surrender to whatever the Lord has next for us. So, we waved the white flag.  What makes it easier for us is that if the Lord is willing, we are going to hang around and be a part of the Dorrisville family.

Well, anyway, about that consequence thing.  I realized that in April of 1984 (as in exactly forty years or four decades ago) I began my final preparations to leave the Air Force to begin my new life as a full-time vocational pastor.  Now trust me…that was a giant leap. At that time my wife Judy and I had two small daughters, ages three and two. We were leaving something we dearly loved, the Air Force, and jumped into a world with no health insurance and a much smaller income. While on the surface I was confident I was also very nervous.

Well God was more than faithful and now we find ourselves once again jumping and once again leaving something we dearly love (our vocational career as pastor and wife). The big truth is that the same God that was faithful forty years ago is faithful today. The same God who led us to four wonderful congregations over the last forty-two years, will lead us till the sun sets.  And yes, the same God who took care of us as we raised our girls will take care of in the coming days.  Just as a standby I told a couple of our deacons to be ready—we might have to move in with them. Smile.

So, God’s timing is always perfect.  If you do a little research in the Bible, you will find that more than a few times the number forty is a big deal! One of my favorites is the fact that Jesus stuck around after His resurrection for forty days just to encourage His disciples.  How great is that. I think He timed this out so I could remember His faithfulness and take another leap of faith.  I’m sure there are many more Grits stories coming and I am also sure some of them will speak of His faithfulness. Our desire is to finish well…celebrating each day and remembering that God is good, God is faithful, and God can be trusted.  If you find yourself at a place where it is time to jump into the unknown, and surrender, don’t worry, you can rest assured that, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, forgiveness, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, loving others, prayer, pride, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials

Mercy Me…Mercy You

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” Luke 6:36

I heard her before I saw her. I was sitting in the backyard enjoying a beautiful Spring early afternoon and I could hear two things.  First, there was a heavy, shuffling of someone’s feet. It is the sound when a person’s feet never quite leave the ground amplified by the heavy shoes on their feet.  Second, there was a quiet mumbling coming from the same place.  I got up for some reason and walked from the patio to our driveway and as I did, I glanced down the alley that runs next to our house.  That is when I saw her.

She was wearing a worn-out flowery dress that hadn’t seen a washing machine in a very long time.  The heavy shoes that I had heard were a pair of rubber boots that strangely were flowered like her dress.  With each step, as I suspected, her feet barely left the ground. At first, I thought she might be physically challenged which caused her shuffling but then I noticed that she was staggering as her feet shuffled. It was obvious that she was under the influence of something—drunk or high or both.

I said hello to her, but she didn’t hear me or ignored me.  It was one of those times when she was there physically but not mentally. About that time some of my tribe joined me in the driveway.  My son-in-law recognized the woman and said the other day she had pulled a hatchet on him and my daughter while they were walking, and I guess that explained what happened next.

I mentioned how sad I felt for her, but I guess because of the hatchet deal he didn’t share my compassion. She struggled on past us to make it to the end of the alley.  While attempting to cross the busy street in front of our house almost stepped in front of a car. We all sorta gasped and it was then that someone mumbled something along the line that it probably would have been better if the car had hit her. I gave the Jesus lecture about she was someone that God loved, and Jesus died for, but they weren’t buying it. Oh, not that they are a hard-hearted lot, but compassion for her had been fatally wounded by the story of an old rusty hatchet.

In this crazy story, I was wanting to judge them for judging her. The bottom line is they should have felt more compassion for her—hatchet or not and I should have felt more understanding for them because of the hatchet.  You see, it really is easy to enter the courtroom of judgement in life, isn’t it? And it’s too easy to extend mercy to one while withholding from another. Perhaps it would be better to leave the judging to the one true Judge while extending mercy to everyone and anyone.  After all, that is what He did and that is what He does.  Until we have walked a while in someone else’s shoes, we probably will misread the story.  When you find yourself in an alley or anywhere else and you are tempted to judge, just remember the One who extended mercy to you…the One who no matter what…always has this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, forgiveness, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, prayer, Scripture, thankful, Trials

Humpty Dumpty and Me

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life and no one comes to the Father but by Me.” John 14:6

Some things never change. As we were growing up, we all learned various nursery rhymes and fairy tales.  Some were funny, some serious, and some a little bizarre.  One of my favorites was Humpty Dumpty.   Why?  I think because his story could have easily been our story—after all, we’ve all fallen off a wall at one time or another. I love the story too because what didn’t happen for old Humpty Dumpty, can happen for us.

If there had been a headline that day it might have read something like this, “Local Egg Takes a Tumble.” The story would begin with, “Apparently a well-known and respected egg, Humpty Dumpty, decided to take a rest on top of a wall just outside of town. While sitting there he lost his balance, fell off the wall and was shattered into several pieces. Fortunately for Mr. Dumpty there were witnesses who immediately called 911. Paramedics, along with representatives from the local government, were quickly on the scene. It is reported that local clergy were also on scene, though they didn’t stay long. Unfortunately, no one was unable to put Mr. Dumpty back together again.”

What a sad tale! There he lay–his life in pieces–kinda like a lot of folks today. You would have thought the local citizenry, government, and churches would have been sympathetic but no. First, some questioned why an egg was on the wall in the first place. After all, given his rounded bottom he was certainly a high risk. Second, he was in a fragile state–in fact, he lived in a fragile state. Others blamed the builders of the wall. If the wall had only been six inches high, he wouldn’t have suffered such massive fractures. Others blamed the weather service because they didn’t put out a high wind warning that day for eggs on walls. And the church–well, they said a respectable egg should have been in church, for it was a Sunday.

Well on and on it went, and in the end–Mr. Dumpty was still broken. You know, some things never change. When sin entered the world Adam blamed God, (God, because He gave Adam the woman & Eve because she gave him the fruit), Eve blamed the snake, and the snake? Well, he just smiled. It wasn’t a time for finger pointing then, nor is it now.  For all around us are Humpty Dumpty’s…broken lives in a broken world.

But then, along comes God. God made the very first promise of a Rescuer, a Redeemer, and a Savior way back in Genesis 3. One day the Redeemer would come and provide the cure for sin–His own death on a Roman cross–and then come back to life thus defeating death forever. And the snake, well, he would be cast into a very hot fire for a very long time.

You see, I am so glad that God is more interested in redemption than blaming. He is still inviting people, all people, to come home. Scared people, sick people, broken people, mean people, and nice people–all get the same invitation–come home. And the path is always the same. Jesus said in John 14:6 “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life and no one comes to the Father but by Me.” It’s not religion, it’s not good works, and it’s not winning by out-blaming the person next to you. It is grace.

The world could use a little good news don’t you think? So today why not share some? When you see the next scared person, the next broken person, the next difficult person (and it might be in the mirror), just assure them that God loves them and that regardless of their past they can come home. Tell them to rest in Him. Why? Because He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, food, forgiveness, Grace, gratitude, life, love, school days, Scripture, Southern born, thankful, Trials

I Just Couldn’t Resist

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” (Hebrews 12:11)

I just couldn’t resist.  All of us have stories that we don’t necessarily remember but are passed down through the years.  Some are humorous, some are serious, and some are the things legends are made of.  Well, this one I believe qualifies as all three. 

When I was quite young, probably six or seven, life was pretty good.  We lived in a country setting that was rapidly becoming the suburbs of Jacksonville, Florida.  There was a subdivision being built right next to where we lived.  Some of the men who were working there would drive these cool wedge shape sticks in the ground at the corners of each lot.  They had numbers on them.  They were surveyor markers.  We thought they made great rubber band guns so we would help ourselves.  We had an endless supply of rubber bands because the newspaper came each day with one or two wrapped around it. We weren’t trying to be mischievous; we were just trying to have fun.  I bet it wasn’t fun for the guys who did the surveying.

Sometimes, our fun might become someone else’s pain.  And that is where the story really begins.  Back in those days, going to the grocery store was a great adventure.  My dad got paid every other Friday.  On payday night we would load up in the car and go to buy groceries.  It seemed we would always buy the stuff to make sandwiches for supper when we got home which invariably included a gallon of chocolate milk.  It never saw the light of the next morning.

Well, one Friday night, we were at the grocery store and apparently, I had a rubber band left over from my adventures that day. I must have reached in my pocket and found the small piece of rubber and thought, “You know, we can have some fun with this.”  Well, I probably should have thought that through a little better, but when you are six or seven and mischievous by nature, anything is a game.  I started looking for targets.

Down the aisle was a rather large woman.  And what happens next has been blocked from my memory but is stated as fact.  As we got closer to the woman, perhaps as she studied what brand of mayo to buy, I took the rubber band, placed it between my thumb and pointer finger, moved my hand, near the intended target and let it fly.  I can only imagine what happened next.

First, I am certain she was shocked.  It must have felt like a killer bee had bit her but that wasn’t logical since she was in a store.  I’m thinking she probably spun around and looked only to see this smiling kid with a rubber band still in his hand.  To me it was all fun.  To her it was all pain.  Lesson one.  Don’t let your fun become someone else’s pain.

Second, I am certain my parents were devastated.  Since this would have been about 1960 or 61 there were not the social rules about child discipline that we have today.  From what I know of my Daddy and Momma, there was probably swift and lethal retribution.  I can imagine one of them, perhaps both, making sure my bottom felt like her bottom.  No one would have called Children and Family Services.  They all would have said, “Let me help you with that.”

Third, I believe that this was when I began to really understand repentance.  Repentance means to turn around and go in a different direction.  If I could have gotten loose from Daddy that night, I would have practiced that repentance…I probably would still be running.  The other meaning of repentance is to have a change in attitude.  I am certain that happened.  If you were to ask me how many other times, I decided to pop a strange lady with a rubber band in the grocery store that number would be zero.  Somehow the urge suddenly left me.  I had repented.

This is going to sound hokey, but it is memories like this that show how much my parents loved me.  They loved me enough to teach me right from wrong, respect for other people, a strong work ethic and to believe in God.  And they loved me enough to give me a swat or two when I needed it.  It all came together to help me grow, and live and love.

God is the same way.  My Daddy and Momma loved me very much, but God outshines even them.  He loves me and teaches me to live life with fewer oops and fewer consequences. I never carry rubber bands in my pocket just to avoid the temptation.  But He also loves me enough to discipline me when I need it. The author of Hebrews says it best.  He writes, “No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” Spot on.  He must have popped some lady too.

So, try and show some grace.  I shouldn’t have popped the lady, and I haven’t popped any more.  Don’t judge my parents for taking care of the problem.  I am grateful for the way they raised me.  And don’t be mad at God if He disciplines you.  He is way too wise to make a mistake and way too loving to do the wrong thing.  He is our “Abba Father,” our Dearest Daddy so we can trust Him.  We can rest in Him.  Because…He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, spring, thankful, travel

Everyday Miracles

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

You are the God who performs miracles.” Psalm 77:14a

It was a miracle of nature.  Yesterday afternoon a rarity of rarities happened across a somewhat narrow band of the United States.  It started down in Texas and swept, at well over 1,000 miles an hour, up through the Ohio valley before finally exiting in Maine.  It was a total eclipse of the sun and while it does happen…it doesn’t happen often.

The last one we experienced was in 2017 and where I live, Harrisburg, Illinois, well, we just happened to be in the crosshairs of the event. People from all over came to see what was happening right in my backyard.  Then, and long before then, they knew it was going to happen again in 2024 and amazingly once again our part of the world was right in crosshairs. God blessed us with clear skies and what we saw was simply amazing.

A google search says on average, it takes about 375 years for a total solar eclipse to happen again at the same location. Wow, 375 years. That is amazing. An eclipse happens when the moon comes between the earth and sun and that shadow sweeps across the earth and in 2017 and in 2024 that happened to be North America and it happened to be right where my wife Judy and I live.  What some people never see—we got to see twice.

The swath of the shadow isn’t very wide, so you must be in the right place at the right time to experience it. And then there is the question of the weather. People from everywhere booked places to stay and bought tickets to get to an area where this rarity of rarities was happening. But if the weather didn’t cooperate…well the deal was off. Texas drew the joker with cloud cover and storms.  Other parts of the country drew aces with few or no clouds.  They got to see the whole show and we were among them.

Clouds or no clouds, even rain or no rain, those in the path of the shadow got to experience a time when daylight literally became dark. It was totally eerie. Birds bedded down and the ducks and geese that live in our city park, where we were watching, acted strangely as we experienced night in the middle of the day. For those with clear skies the miracle was amazingly clear…for others, well, it wasn’t.  All in the path experienced the phenomenon but some couldn’t see it or all of it and that, friend, is the big truth for today.  You see, every day, miracles happen all around us and sometimes we take note, and sometimes we don’t but that doesn’t mean they are not there.  If solar eclipses happened all the time, we wouldn’t give them the time of day and that is one reason we miss so much of God’s miraculous work in our world and lives.

Hans Christan Anderson said, “The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them we call them ordinary things.” Well, he was spot on, and the sadness is when the miraculous becomes ordinary—life loses so much of its allure—a new baby becomes ordinary and a beautiful sunrise or sunset garners only a yawn.  Years before yesterday’s big event people were planning and talking about it.  They didn’t want to miss something that wouldn’t happen in North America for another twenty years.  They didn’t want to miss the miracle. Let’s live in such a way that we don’t either. Let’s keep our eyes on the Son and His Father and surrender to the miracle guide, the Holy Spirit, and trust, and believe that, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, forgiveness, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, prayer, school days, Scripture, Southern born, thankful, Trials

“Chucking Rocks”

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7

I should have listened.  I was a pretty good kid when I was young but let’s be honest.  Pretty good doesn’t mean perfect and pretty good doesn’t mean not mischievous.  I think it means I was somewhere close to normal.  The only thing is normal can still get you into trouble.

One day I was with the family and I’m pretty sure we were in a laundromat.  Apparently, the washing machine had broken down and we had to do the washing at the mat.  My daddy and I were out in the parking lot while mama was washing the clothes.  I was about nine and bored and that is not a good combination.  The parking lot was gravel and all those rocks just seemed to be saying, “Throw me.”  So, I obliged.

At first it was a little toss here and there but the more I threw, the more I wanted to throw.  First it was random, but then I started taking aim.  Several things were laying along the edge of the parking lot, and they made great targets but then I got an idea.  If hitting a can was good, imagine hitting a moving target.  So, I started chucking the rocks in the direction of the road and at the cars passing by.  Bad idea.

Now, if you are going to chuck rocks at a car, every nine-year old rock chucker knows you don’t just chuck your rock with obvious intention.  You ease into it. Well, I started easing into it and before long, my rocks were landing dangerously close to cars going by.  My Daddy thought it was kinda accidental and it garnered a “Dewayne, be careful not to hit the cars.”  He hadn’t caught onto my real plan to “ping a hub cap.”  Anyway, I kept chucking so he upped the warning.

“Dewayne, listen, don’t throw rocks at the cars.” He had finally caught on and I should have quit while I was ahead.  I finally got close enough so that we entered “Final Jeopardy.” “Question—what happens if you hit a car? Answer—I’m gonna give you a spanking.”  Yeah, well, you can probably guess where this is going.  I chucked a rock and hit a car going by and it was “Final Jeopardy.”  Daddy got mad, the driver got mad, and I got in trouble.

Well, Daddy was able to talk to the driver and he promised him the “grapes of wrath” would fall when we got home.  As he drove off, Daddy explained about the “grapes of wrath.” Translated it meant I was gonna get a spanking when we got home, and it wasn’t gonna be a little one.  So, as soon as we pulled into our driveway, I ran into the house and hid under the dining room table.  Soon, I heard Daddy’s voice, “Where are you, Dewayne?”  I felt like Adam and Eve in the garden after they had chucked rocks at God and decided to sin.  God was looking for them and they were hiding too.

And that’s where things get fuzzy.  I don’t remember the spanking which means I probably got grace instead.  It probably means that Daddy and I had a long talk about chucking rocks at cars and how that was not a good thing to do.  It must have worked because I don’t think I ever chucked another rock at a car…at least one that was moving. That day I learned about obedience and how it has a whole lot less consequences than disobedience.  I also learned about grace.  Grace is when you deserve a spanking but instead you get a talking.  But I also learned about rock chucking. I learned that it was ok to chuck rocks at things like stumps and cans, but it is not ok to chuck rocks at things like cars. When you do there are consequences…big ones.

Now, there’s another kind of rock chucking that I’m still learning about and that is chucking rocks at people. I’m not talking about waylaying someone with a stone but rather waylaying them with our judgmental acts and words. It’s what we do when we see someone fail and we decide to make ourselves feel better by knocking them down.

Jesus ran into this when some religious people found a woman sinning big-time.  They dragged her into the middle of a crowd and wanted to stone her.  They asked Jesus what would He do?  He told them that the person that had never sinned should chuck the first rock.  Well, slowly they all walked away because they had all messed up. “Where are your accusers?” Jesus asked the woman.  She replied that they had left…and indeed they had.

The only ones left were her, the sinner, and Him, the One who had never sinned.  He could have chucked rocks but instead He loved her and forgave her.  She deserved the rocks, but He gave her grace.  I like that.  A lot.  So, He dismissed her with a smile and a word of “now don’t go on sinning” and the rocks stayed on the ground…right where they belong.

I am so grateful for grace…and you should be too.  If we have experienced grace, we should extend some too. You see, rocks make great parking lots and driveways, but are terrible weapons. They need to stay in the quarry or on the ground.  My Daddy showed grace then and my Dearest Daddy shows it every day.  We should too.  It’s good to know though when we are hiding under the dining room table and He calls, we can come out and sit in His lap and learn about the consequences of sin but also the wonders of grace.  So, come on out from your hiding place. We can rest in Him because, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, loving others, prayer, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials

First, It Was, Then It Wasn’t

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.” Philippians 3:13

Almost twenty-four years ago we moved to Harrisburg.  More specifically we moved to 217 West Poplar Street.  The house had been vacant for several years and we had a lot of work to do—inside and out.  Our lawn, or perhaps yard would be a better word, was a collection of weeds.  Except for one clump of daylilies, there was nothing—just a healthy crop of weeds and crabgrass. Now some would see that as a problem…an overwhelming one at that.  But what they would see as a problem—my wife, Judy, saw as an opportunity.  Just like an artist with a blank canvas, she went to work.

First you need to know that Judy has a green thumb—figuratively speaking. She has the amazing ability to plan and plant flowers and make gardens.  So, soon after we moved in, she set about turning the house into a home and the yard into a tapestry of flower beds. Before long, there were flower gardens filled with many beautiful blooms.  Things were looking up.

That year, I believe in the fall, we planted a pink dogwood tree. It might be better described as a pink dogwood twig. Now you might know that dogwood trees are just a little finicky.  You must cuddle and nurture them, or they will take their ball and go home.  Well, we took good care of the little dogwood tree, and it grew.  I can remember after about three years it finally bloomed! It continued to grow and before long it was a real tree.  Judy and I were so proud.

After fifteen good years, our pride and joy started looking a little sick.  There were fewer leaves and the leaves it had were just not healthy.  I had a hunch that our dogwood tree was “checking out” and sure enough that spring it gave up the ghost. Apparently, an insect called a bore decided to bore into our tree.  Why?  Well, I guess he was just bored. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.  After it was apparent that the tree was dead, I remember saying to Judy that I just couldn’t imagine the front yard without it.

Well, even after it died, I let it stand for several months (hoping for a resurrection?) but finally decided to take it down. I had long ago given away my he-man chainsaw, so armed with my lobbers and—get ready—my saws-all, I tackled the tree.  Limb by limb, slowly the tree came down. It was a sad moment but soon after I was done, we looked and both of us commented how much better it looked without the dead tree there.  Did you catch that?  I couldn’t imagine it gone and then I couldn’t imagine it there!  What was the difference? Life and death.

You see, alive the tree was an asset—it added to our yard.  In the spring it had beautiful blooms, and, in the fall, it had red leaves and berries. Once it died, well, it was a liability. I’m not sure why I left it standing as long as I did but truthfully it was better gone. Looking back, I began to wonder how many things in our life that were once an asset have now become a liability? The truth is times change, we change and sometimes we need to be willing to let go.  I know in view of COVID; it was very hard to let go of pre-COVID. We held on to that old normalcy with a death grip. But no matter how hard we grasped; it slipped like beach sand through our fingers.

So, is there something that was good for back then but is pulling you down now?  Is it time to let go of an old friendship? An old habit? An old addiction? The truth is if we think about it, all of us have something that we need to be willing to let go of—and no, your spouse and kids don’t count! Smile. Our friend Paul, one of the main writers of the New Testament part of the Bible said he was going to let go of the past and reach for the future. Now that is good advice. As we journey in life let’s learn and perhaps honor the past but be ready and willing to embrace the future.  Does it seem a little frightening?  Don’t worry, you don’t need to face it alone.  He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, forgiveness, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, missions, prayer, priorities, Scripture, thankful, Trials, wisdom

Don’t Let the Door Close

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man.” Genesis 6:3a

It was going to be close. It is something that happens more often than we think.  We are in a building…a tall building…the kind that has an elevator. We are in a hurry, and we look across the lobby and see the door is standing open…as if waiting for us. What a blessing, what a time saver.  We pick up our pace a bit and just a couple of yards from the door, it closes and begins its journey upward…without you. Does this ring a bell? Or maybe the scene is a city bus waiting at the stop and again you think, “What perfect timing” until you hear the airbrakes release and see the door close, and you are left behind in a cloud of stinky diesel exhaust. Yuk.

One of my favorite travel memories was when we were on a mission trip passing through London.  We hopped onto the tube (what British folks call their subway) and were sitting passively waiting for the car to move.  Suddenly, our team leader jumped up and indicated we were to follow him.  Just as he got to the door, it began to close, and he threw himself into the gap, blocking the door from closing. It turned out we were on the wrong train and his selfless action allowed us to jump off and get on the right train!

Sometimes closing doors are just an inconvenience…like elevators, busses, and subways but sometimes it can have a much larger, more dangerous consequence. I’ve long believed that whether it is about a relationship with Him or a change of course in our lives, God opens and closes doorways for us.  I’ve seen this happen in church.  People will wake up one day and decide to start going to church again. They get dressed, drive to wherever, and walk through the door. To their surprise they like what they find and hear and leave wondering why they ever left. They regularly attend for the next few weeks or months and then suddenly they don’t. What happened?

When people rediscover the reality of God, He usually calls them to some sort of decision. It might be a first-time relationship or a return home.  Even folks who regularly attend might find themselves drawn to a new and deeper relationship with their heavenly Father but here is the big truth. In both cases, if the person fails to act, often the door closes…the fire cools…the passion dissipates and suddenly and sadly, an opportunity is missed.

There is a verse tucked away in Genesis that says, “And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man” and while the context is not perfect, the truth is. God calls all of us at one time or another, but He doesn’t call forever.  When you feel God talking to you, I hope you and I both will have the wisdom to respond. Whether to come home for the first time or for the hundredth time, when He is speaking, we should be listening…and responding. God is so patient with us, but He does expect us to respond and that is always a good idea.  You see, no matter what or why He is calling we can have the assurance that it is for our good and that means…He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne 

Posted in Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials

Boom, Crash, Ouch!

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.” Romans 8:28

Well, it happened again.  It was Saturday evening and it had been a good day.  I was able to get a lot of yard work done including mowing my yard.  I found out, though, that I had violated a cardinal rule. In Southern Illinois you never, and I mean never, mow the yard before the first of April.  My neighbor and some guys at church told me all about it. Oops.  Anyway, it was a good day.  Later that afternoon my wife Judy and I went to eat at our favorite local restaurant and came home to study and prepare for Sunday.

As I entered the kitchen, I saw a box of tools that I had been using for various inside projects.  My wife Judy had asked me earlier if I was done with them and I said yes.  That was code for “Hey, get your tools out of my kitchen and back in the garage.”  Got it…it just took me a while.  So, seeing the box of tools, I picked them up and carried them to the garage.  I could feel Judy smiling.  While I was in the garage, I saw a bottle of algae killer which reminded me that our little goldfish pond had looked more than a little green earlier in the day.  I grabbed the bottle, went out to the pond, and gave it a dose. Check.

So, I went back to the garage, put the algae stuff back on my work bench and headed back into the house when I saw it.  It was the net that I use to get floating stuff out of the pond.  Well, having just visited the pond I knew there was plenty of stuff floating in the water, so I grabbed the net and headed back to the pond.  I should have quit while I was ahead.  As I bounded up the single step from my driveway and onto the patio, I caught my toe on the edge of the concrete and fell…hard…real hard.

Part of this happened at hyper-speed and part of it happened in slow motion.  The falling part of fast but it all seemed to slow down as I watched my extended fingers and hand hit the concrete and bend in a direction they were never meant to go.  It wasn’t pretty.  I was stunned and I was hurting.  Remember the commercial for the lady who falls and says, “Help, I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up.”?  Well, that was me.  My hand wouldn’t work, and my body just hurt.  After several minutes I rolled around and managed to sit up and then get up.

I made it into the house and told Judy I had fallen, hard. Amazingly, most of my body still worked but my hand didn’t fare so well. I will spare you all the details, but the good news is that nothing was broken and none of the tendons were torn.  They were stretched and strained but the doctor said in a week or two they should heal.  Someone asked if I lost my religion in all of that and the answer was, “No.”  In fact, the first thing I thought, when I could think, was “thank you, Lord.”  Why? Well, here’s the short list.

First, it was my right hand and for once I was grateful since I am left-handed. A lot of what I do involves a pen and a keyboard. So, while it was a bit inconvenient it was not life changing. God was good. Second, my vintage 1954 model body still bounces well.  It really could have been a different story. Many a person has had a less dangerous fall than mine and didn’t fare so well. And finally—people.  Judy was there for me and when I got to church and shared some of this during a preaching time (I’m a pastor) so many were concerned.  It’s lovely to be loved.

I had a quote in that morning’s message that said something I needed to hear…and you need to hear.  It goes like this, “Trust [in God] is believing that when everything seems to be falling apart it is actually God arranging things just the way He wants them.” Boom! You see, I am sure God has all kind of good things to teach me through this.  And it made a great sermon illustration and gave me one more “Grits” story.  Thank you, Lord.

I remember how my hand was sore, bruised, and swollen for months.  I’ve grown up with mismatched ears and now I have mismatched hands.  Go figure.  If you don’t mind me using an overused verse from the Bible, remember what Paul said in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.” It’s true and He proves it over and over again. Oh, and I think I can tell you with certainty one more thing, one more time.  Write it down, take it to the bank, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne