Tag: airport

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

An Angel from Bowling Green

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord…and He delights in His way.” Psalm 37:23 

Did you know that some angels come from Bowling Green, Kentucky? Well, my wife Judy and I recently returned from vacation. Now, I really like vacations. We are blessed that God has provided the means for us to go and our church (I’m a pastor) provided the time. And believe me…it was time. We saved, planned, and decided a return trip to Punta Cana sounded like just the thing we needed. We bought tickets, made the reservations, and like the old Willie Nelson song says, we were back on the road again. And…we were excited! We decided to stay at a place where we had stayed several times before. We figured with Covid and all of that it might be better to go to a place we were familiar with. We had a great flight down and soon we were in paradise….well, sorta. Truthfully, it was somewhat apparent that Covid had taken the wind out of the sails of our familiar place. It just wasn’t the same. But like we always say…at least we were away.

The Dominican is a great place, but you still must be careful…stay at the resort, eat at the resort and above all…don’t drink the water. Most of the time Judy and I are good rule keepers…and we were this time, too. Then came Wednesday. That day I could tell my appetite was a bit off, but it was no deal. At supper that night I ate very little and as we walked back to the room, I told Judy I just felt a bit sad. Well, in a few minutes, I found out I wasn’t sad…I was sick. In spite of all my precautions, I apparently had the dreaded “traveler’s disease.” If you don’t know what it is…I’ll let you look it up, but it is enough to say it ain’t fun. Period. Well for the next two days I pretty much stayed in the room and by Saturday, going home day, I wasn’t much better.

We boarded the bus for the airport and things went from bad to worse. As we sat there, my stomach got more and more queasy, and I was pretty certain I was going to quickly be the most unpopular guy on the bus. Meanwhile as I am doing my best to “keep my cookies,” Judy was having a great conversation with the mother of a family sitting by us. She was talking to them, and I was talking to myself, “Don’t lose it, don’t lose it.”

Soon we arrived at the airport, thankfully with stomach intact, and got into a very long line to check our luggage for the flight. I tried, but I just couldn’t stand there so I told Judy I was going to the restroom and try and sit-down. She kindly handled the luggage and both backpacks and I went and collapsed. I watched from a distance. I was praying, “God, I sure need Your help, but I know I need to trust you…so Your will be done.”

While I was praying there, Judy was praying in line. Soon, but not soon enough, Judy was almost at the counter and waved for me to come on over. I did and when I got there, the friendly family “just happened to be” in front of her. I was standing there, more miserable than ever, and the mother’s mother, mouthed the words, “Are you ok?” I simply said I was not, telling her my stomach was very upset. And then…it happened. The mother said, “I have some Pepto Bismol in my luggage, would you like some”? I responded with a very grateful “yes”. So right there, though she was next in line, she laid her luggage (which was the size of Texas) on the floor, opened it up, dug around (she packed like Judy…smile) and quickly produced a small bottle of Pepto. I quickly opened it up and took a swig. Borne on the wings of prayer, within a few minutes, and I do mean a few minutes, I was much better. No, I wasn’t normal, but I knew I wouldn’t be losing my cookies. A dose or two later and I was much, much better. I was going to survive.

And all of that…because a caring Dearest Daddy heard the prayers of His kids. Some would be tempted to say it was happenstance, some would say it was just a nice person being nice, but for those of us who know God, we know differently. It makes me go back to that great verse in the Old Testament part of the Bible, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in His way.” You see this whole thing was all about God and not about me. He took care of me…and it delighted Him to do so. I love that. So, while the vacation didn’t make the top ten…God did. In fact, He is number one and the only One. It just proves what we have learned together…He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, gratitude, life, thankful, travel

Confused?

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures.” Romans 15:4

It’s just a little confusing.  After attending yesterday’s Memorial Day service and doing a little yard work, my wife and I decided to go to Paducah, Kentucky to look around for a couple of chairs or perhaps a small sofa to complete a project we have been working on at home.  So, we loaded up and headed south across the river to the land of grits. And the point of this story all began with traveling.  You see, we did a lot of traveling this past week or so.  We had flown to Denver and then driven a thousand miles or so in Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota.  We saw a lot of things and some of them were simply beautiful.  The mountains and canyons are spectacular.  We also saw some things that were hard. We saw some extreme poverty as some folks tried to eke out a living in the barren desert hills and valleys of Wyoming.  We saw the results of a wildfire that ravaged a large portion of the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.  Those were hard.  But some things there and closer to home were just confusing.

The confusing part was what to do with that 4×6 piece of cloth or paper we now know as a face mask. We used to only see them on the evening news and donned by folks in other countries such as China.  And then, suddenly, ready or not, they became a part of our lives.  And now…it is mask or no mask? Flying, there was no doubt about the mask.  When you stepped in the airport it was required…and then you didn’t take it off till you, like Elvis, left the building. They were very adamant about it—threatening arrest, jail time, and the loss of your first born if you didn’t comply.  I guess all that was fine, but it seems to me, they didn’t have to act so mad about it.

Once we left the airport, it was a whole different world.  Regardless of where we went or to what state we traveled, the mask requirement weren’t a deal.  I mean, that is really good news.  We have all heard from all kinds of sources that the COVID thing, while not gone, is in full blown retreat.  I just wish someone would have told the airport folks too.  As we traveled, whether it was to a gas station down the street ,or to a National Park…no mask.  One restaurant proudly posted that, “following the CDC and Colorado Guidelines you are welcome NOT to wear a mask.”  That was followed by something like, “unless you want to.” That made me smile. Want to? Really?

Well, anyway, that was the way it was throughout the states we visited out west.  Now back to Paduach.  We stopped at a local business there. Walking to the door we realized that we had forgotten we were back in the Midwest, and I didn’t have a mask.  I told Judy we will just have to see.  When we got to the door, sure enough, it was plastered with signs about wearing a mask.  We went on in and asked the nice lady at the door if masks were required.  She told me that they were asking people to wear one and I told her I had forgotten mine…did she have one? She said they did, and I slipped one on. I asked her when their governor was going to “open the state” and she said, “Oh, that doesn’t matter, our company is the one making the rules.” What? See what I mean about confusing?  And, to make matters worse, virtually every person in the store was mask-less.  I wore mine for a while and then reverse peer pressure took over and I took it off.

By now you have got to be wondering what this story is about!  Me, too.  No, not really. All of this was just a gentle reminder for me to be grateful for the Bible…the Word of God.  Though written over 1,500 years by a bunch of different writers, it has stood the test of time. It is as solid today as it was a couple of thousand years ago.  It is refreshing to know that God won’t change His mind and issue a revision tomorrow, next month, or next year.  It is refreshing to know that He got His Word right the first time.  In a world where no one seems to know what is right or wrong…the Bible hasn’t changed and personally, I like that surety.

Paul, one of those writers I told you about, was writing a letter to some Jesus followers in Rome.  It was during the time when being a follower of Jesus could cost you your life.  Speaking about the scriptures, he said, “For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures.”  In other words, God gave us His Word to help us along this journey called life and to encourage us too.  That is good news.  If you haven’t read it in a while, you might want to check it out for yourself.  You might be pleasantly surprised.  It has sure been a help to me…especially during these confusing COVID days.  It was there that I learned the great truth I close with each time we meet.  Here it is…are you ready?  “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne