helping – Grits with Grace

communication, friends, life, loving others, Scripture, spiritual battles, Trials

Ignored

Posted on July 22, 2025July 15, 2025 by Dewayne Taylor

“Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your mat and walk.” Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk.” John 5:8-9

No matter how hard I tried…he ignored me. So, I am a walker…sometimes more consistent than others… but generally I walk several days a week. The habit person in me likes the consistency of taking the same route over and over. The adventure person in me likes to vary the routes that I take. The bottom line…it is a coin toss every time I walk. Regardless of which route I take; I see him frequently.

Who is he? He is one of the homeless guys here in our small town. Actually, I am only assuming he is homeless. Like I said, frequently and no matter how early, I see him riding his bike, pushing his bike, and sitting somewhere, anywhere holding onto his bike. When I stroll by, I try to be friendly. I walk by and give him a wave and a smile with a “good morning,” attached. He doesn’t respond. If you remember the story of Brier Rabbit and Tar Baby, you know when Tar Baby didn’t respond to Brier Rabbit—he got more than a little upset. Well, I think Brier Rabbit and I might be distant cousins. My thought was, “What’s up with this? Why is he ignoring me?”

Well, there were many attempts after that attempt, and it wasn’t just with him. I would try to wave, be friendly, and give a “Good morning” if we were in voice range. Almost without exception…there was nothing just a blank stare. Well, earlier this week it was the same song, same verse but this time something occurred to me…or more accurately maybe Someone spoke to me. The thought, the inner voice was this, “Dewayne, he is ignoring you because that is all he knows.” A bell went off in my head and in my heart.

I realized in that moment that to most people, these folks who live in the streets are ignored because they become invisible. Most people don’t even see them much less acknowledge them. And, I think, that once you have been ignored for so long…when you are invisible to the world around you…you stop seeing and feeling too. It becomes easy to just look, to stare until the world around disappears. And, you need to know, that it isn’t always homeless people…it can be just everyday walk-around people who have been bruised and hurt one too many times. They go to work, they function, but in reality, they stare into nothingness just trying to get by.

What are we to do? Well, first we don’t stop trying to reach out and touch those around us. Jesus was so good at seeing the invisible and loving the unlovable and do you know what? He never gave up. A story is told about a lame man who laid by a pool forever…or, at least, it seemed forever…38 years to be exact. The rumor was if you could be the first in the pool when the waters stirred, you would be healed. It wasn’t true and it really didn’t matter because he could never be first. And then…Jesus showed up.

Jesus saw him, spoke to him and asked this question, “Do you want to be well?” The man gave Him the story about him and the waters. Jesus didn’t quit. He just said, “Pick up your mat and walk.” Well, the guy took the gamble, obeyed, and…he was healed…just like that. Amazing. Thirty-eight years of suffering ended abruptly. I guess we can’t offer the broken around us that kind of deal, but we can see, we can speak, and we can pray and when we do that…who knows what God will do?

Let me encourage you…and me for that matter…to start seeing again, to start loving again, to start making a difference, no matter how small, again. If you see someone obviously broken and you are a Jesus follower, just remember how broken you were when you met the Healer and He whispered, “I love you…I forgive you.” And as you remember, take that moment to reach out and let that person know how much God loves them and longs to forgive them. Oh, and let them also know that, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

communication, food, life, loving others, missions, Scripture, travel

I Can’t Hear You

Posted on March 4, 2025February 16, 2025 by Dewayne Taylor

“But Peter said, “I don’t have silver or gold, but what I do have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” Acts 3:6 (CSB)

I can’t hear you. A friend and I were standing on the shores of an island in Lake Victoria, Uganda, East Africa. He was telling a Jesus story to a man and trying to determine if he knew Jesus. While he was sharing another man walked up and began to listen. At the end of the story, we asked a couple of questions. The first man indicated that he knew this Jesus. The other did not. And he couldn’t hear.

Let me explain. It wasn’t that he had a hearing problem. His ears were working quite well. It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand. Our friend understood English and when we hit a bump our translator would jump in and help. But he couldn’t hear. Then he explained the problem. He said something like, “I can’t hear about this Jesus because my stomach is so hungry.”

Now hunger is not usually a big issue in Uganda. While the food may not be the best nutritionally it is usually sufficient in quantity. Our friend was one of the exceptions. For whatever reason he hadn’t eaten that day or maybe the day before. The growling of his stomach was blocking his heart from hearing the message. We tried to explain that while we may hunger here, God had a place in heaven where no one would be hungry. I decided to tell him another story from the Bible.

I told him the story of Peter and John entering the temple. You can read it in Acts 3:1-10. It goes something like this. There was a crippled man there who made a living begging. When he saw Peter and John, he thought they could help. He looked up expectedly and perhaps even lifted his hand to receive a coin or two. While his hand remained empty, he got something more than a coin. Peter said, “We don’t have silver or gold but what we do have we will give you. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth rise up and walk.”

As Peter reached his hand down and the man reached up, his ankles received healing strength and he stood and walked into the temple. I smugly smiled my preacher smile. The perfect story. The perfect truth. Eternal is better than temporary. Surely my friends would see it, and everyone would go their way happy. Only it didn’t happen.

I asked him “So what is better a few coins now or something that can change your life forever?” I, of course, expected him to agree that the gift of eternal life is certainly more and better than a few coins or a quick meal. His answer caught me totally off guard. He replied, “A few coins or some food.” What? I couldn’t believe what he was saying. Surely, he understood. Surely, I had made the story clear.

Then he said it. “Heaven is good, but I am hungry now. I need food now.” Well, sadly, he wandered off. Still hungry. Still lost. My friend continued to share with the first man but my heart was heavy and my mind on the other man. Suddenly, I saw him again standing a few yards away. It was then I heard the Whisperer whisper. It was short and simple. “Give him food” the Whisperer said. I had totally forgotten that in my backpack I had some tuna, chips, crackers for my own lunch. I dug several items from my bag, as did my friend.

I walked over to the man and said, “This isn’t much but I hope it will quieten your stomach so you can hear Jesus.” He quickly took the food and left. There’s no bow on the package, no happily ever after ending, no prayer to receive Jesus. But I know two things. I know he knew we cared, and I know he heard the truth and this time that had to be enough. Maybe the seed would sprout later…only eternity will tell.

I learned a couple of things that day. I learned that sometimes before we can share the Good News of the Gospel with a person, we need to touch them in a real tangible way. A casual God bless you and a pat on the back doesn’t do much for an anxious soul or a hungry stomach. We must talk Jesus, we must share Jesus, but we must be Jesus. Someone said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

In these crazy, troubling times people need more than a sermon—they need to know we care. How do we do that? That’s the second thing I learned. We must listen for the Whisperer. We need to be sensitive to His gentle nudges. We must still our own souls and hearts if we are to hear His gentle voice. These days call for new ways…different ways.

So, as you walk about life, keep your eyes open, your heart still and watch in wonder at what God can do through you. You don’t have to be in Africa to be on mission. That can happen, must happen right here, right now. And in these days of fear and frustration people are more ready to hear about God than ever before. What a privilege to be entrusted with God’s work. Up for the challenge? God believes so. Remember, He’s really big on you. So, rest in Him. He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Family, friends, gratitude, Integrity, life, priorities, Scripture, Southern born, thankful

Nickels, Dimes, and Quarters

Posted on March 21, 2023March 20, 2023 by Dewayne Taylor

If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—and He will repay you!” Proverbs 19:17

It was part generosity and part tradition. When I was growing up, Sunday meant going to church. My Momma would always make sure I had taken a bath, combed my hair, brushed my teeth (I think), had clean clothes, and had an offering. There was something about going to church and taking an offering. It almost seemed like either God would be mad if I didn’t or the people at church would think we were poor or something…which we might have been.

Now the offering wasn’t a whole lot, but it was more than the widow lady in the Bible gave. Her offering was less than a penny, but it was really everything she had. Momma gave me a quarter most times but sometimes it was a dime and on rare occasions it was a dollar. Trust me, that was a rarity. Anyway, I finally figured out that it wasn’t the amount that mattered anyway. What mattered was that Momma thought it was important and it mattered that I didn’t pocket the quarter. Jesus said something about it was more blessed to give than to receive and I’m sure Momma knew that. So anyway, I gave the quarter.

I read a story the other day about a little girl who went to church just like me. Her Momma gave her a dime and a nickel. The little girl asked, “Which one am I supposed to give?” and her Momma told her she could decide. Well, when she came home from church, her Momma asked her which one she gave, and she said she had given the nickel. When asked why she gave the nickel instead of the dime she said, “Well, the preacher said that God loves people who give cheerfully, and I was a lot happier when I gave the nickel and kept the dime.” Smile.

I know that I am still a work in progress. God started the project way back in 1975 and He’s still working today. I’ve heard it said that His work isn’t done until He takes us home to live with Him. I believe that is true. One of the areas that He is working on with me is generosity. They say that if you want to carve a duck from a block of wood you just cut off everything that doesn’t look like a duck. Well, that is what God does with us except He’s not making ducks. He is making Jesus followers. And one thing I know for sure is that Jesus was always generous. He was so generous He gave His life away on a wooden cross to pay for everyone’s sin. Now that is generosity. Now that is love.

My point isn’t that you ought to give to the church. The point is we should all learn to be generous to others. A generous life is a happy life, and a generous heart is a happy heart. In the Old Testament part of the Bible in the Book of Proverbs it says, “If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—and He will repay you!” You know, I believe that is true. I’m also sure that the repayment may not be dollars and cents but rather a deep sense of peace and joy in our lives—and that is better—that is priceless. Remember this—God is more than willing to help you be like Jesus, but it all starts when we believe what He did and what He said. He died and came back to life and promised to forgive anyone who asked. Need a little help with that? Well, don’t worry, He’s got that too.

Bro. Dewayne

Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, loving others, priorities, Southern born, thankful

Sharing Grits

Posted on February 9, 2023February 8, 2023 by Dewayne Taylor

Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.” Hebrews 13:16

My Momma taught me to share. When there are a bunch of kids and other family members in a family you learn two contradicting lessons. First, you need to share. Often, especially when it comes to the good things on a dinner table, the demand usually exceeds supply. You know, nine people and eight pieces of pie. So, you cut the pieces smaller. That is sharing. The other lesson is you need to act fast. We all know the adage that the early bird gets the worm or the one who eats his or her pie the fastest gets a shot at the last piece. That is not sharing.

Sharing and putting others first are Jesus things. He was the only guy who could go to any event and be the star of the show. Be it a wedding, a funeral, or a banquet and bam…He was the most important person in the room. But the funny thing is you never see that. You always see Him at the back of the line. The only time He was first in line was the line for the cross. That was a very short line—in fact, it was only one deep, and He was ready and willing to go because He loved us so much.

He was willing to share His righteousness too. We didn’t have any of our own, so He gave us His. The Bible says that our righteousness was like filthy rags, so He shared, in fact, He gave. It’s pretty amazing. There are some things we shouldn’t share like something told in private and maybe a cold. But as a general rule we should be people who love to share. And that is where I need your help.

Over the last couple of years lots of folks have been reading Grits. Through our church email list, the Grits Facebook page, and through the gritswithgrace.com blog, people have been reading. I want you know just how incredible I think that is. My goal is to be an encourager and maybe even make you smile. But most importantly, I want to share a big truth that helps us as we do life…together.

So, that is where you come in. I am wondering if you would be willing to share Grits with those in your world. The guy who wrote Hebrews (great name for a coffee shop by the way) said that we should do good things and share because God is pleased with that. That might even apply to Grits. Sign up for the blog at http://www.gritswithgrace.com, share on Facebook, or share in an email, it’s all sharing a word of encouragement.

Something happened a while back that I thought was so cool. I was notified by email that someone had read one of the Grits’ stories and decided to start following the blog. That means every day they will get an email with that day’s story. Sometimes, people just stumble onto the Grits blog, who knows how that happens? But what made this so special was this someone was a cabdriver in Southampton, England. What? Yup. And I thought that was cool. So, a special thanks to our friend there.

My wife Judy checked (the blog tracks locations) and we have had Grits’ readers from several countries and from a chunk of the states here in America. And it usually happens because someone searches and finds a story, or someone shares it. So, would you be willing to make it a daily habit to share your Grits? It isn’t about just getting more readers but rather, it is about maybe encouraging someone who needs a lift on any given day. Together we can be encouragers and hey, the more the merrier.

Each year is a challenge, but I love the fact that God is bigger than any challenge we face. I try and make that a regular theme as I write. Life is pretty tough to go it alone and I believe that He is more than ready to walk with us. So, thanks again for reading and thanks for sharing. Oh, and by the way, for those of you who comment…thanks for that too. I try to read and respond, and it is always an encouragement. Well, outside night is turning to day, so it must be time to see what this day holds. One thing is sure…we can face it together with Him because as always, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Family, food, life, Scripture

Food Truck

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Dewayne Taylor

“When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36

There’s a new food truck in town. For the past several years I have begun my day by walking for exercise. I take several different routes but one of my favorites is around the lake at the city park. It was there I met Bubba the goose (for past readers he said to tell you hi), saw the power of integration in the goose families (they are doing fine), saw a man waging a war with people I could not see, and saw the new food truck in town. Let me explain.

We walkers see two kinds of exercisers. Some people come and go and some are regular as clockwork, they show up to walk each day. Like Forest Gump they start running—or walking—and just don’t stop. These folks become unofficial friends. We may not know each other’s names, what we do for a living or where the other person lives but for those few minutes at the park our lives intersect. And then, there’s the “food truck.”

She loves dogs and really animals. She walks her dogs every day in the park…and there are several. But what is interesting is that for a long time there was a cat walking with her. I mean a lot of people walk dogs, but a cat? The feline wasn’t on a leash but would just quietly walk behind her and the dogs. Talk about intriguing. So after a while I just had to talk with her. It turns out it wasn’t her cat at all. She met the cat one day while walking and it looked a little thin so she started dropping some dry cat food on the sidewalk and …well the cat had breakfast and hung around for dessert. There was a new “food truck” in town.

Sadly, one day our feline friend wasn’t there and I learned that he was hit by a car and didn’t survive. We mourned together…a lady I didn’t know losing a cat she didn’t own but we paused and grieved. But before long, there was another cat. I first saw him on the sidewalk about a block from the park and he was having breakfast on the sidewalk and I knew the “food truck” had been by. The relationship wasn’t as tight or as long but she had made a new friend by meeting a need.

Well, one day I was again walking in the park and ahead I saw several squirrels having breakfast. Yup, the “food truck” fed squirrels too. And then a few days later I saw several ducks gathered on the walking trail. Turns out ducks like cat food and they too were having breakfast. The “food truck” was a hit in the park and everyone was invited. But the funniest part was yet to happen.

So I am walking, and across the narrow lake I can see her walking her dog. Behind her is a group of ducks having breakfast. Then on my side of the lake there are three ducks and they are on the move. They are waddling as fast as their little legs would take them and they are quacking up a storm. Again, my duck is a little rusty but I believe they were saying, “Hey wait for us.” So huffing and puffing they waddle down a small peninsula and jump in. Paddling furiously they headed straight across the lake. Like kids chasing the ice cream truck they swam on. It was my last lap for the day but the last time I saw them they were on shore and hollering, “Wait, we’re coming.”

I don’t know my friend’s name but I do know her impact. Her acts of kindness to animals makes her a hit with them and with me. She just seems to care and really, besides this strange sort of fan club, gets no other reward. She just does what she thinks is the next right thing. I wonder how different our world would be if we did the same. Jesus did. The Book tells us that when He saw people—He didn’t see social class, He didn’t see color—He just saw people and He had compassion on them. He saw them as sheep without a shepherd or maybe like ducks needing breakfast.

Compassion is best defined as simply love in action. Its seeing a need and then doing what you can to meet that need. Imagine today taking the time to show kindness to someone having a difficult day. Imagine today taking the time to give someone a smile when they are only used to frowns. Imagine today doing simply the next right thing—without reward, without expectation—simply because it is the right thing to do. It might just be amazing. It might just look crazy…like a cat following a lady walking her dog. It might just be game changing.

In a few minutes, I’m going to do my walking thing. I don’t have any cat food. In fact my shorts don’t even have pockets but I can pack an intentional smile for someone who needs one. I can do that. Sometimes Jesus gave out free lunches to crowds—big crowds. Sometimes He healed broken bodies and spirits. But something that I think we overlook is that He probably smiled…a lot. Imagine His joy as He shared and showed compassion—love in action. Like the cat, like the ducks following the “food truck” people followed Him. Not just for the bread, though some did, but because around Him they felt safe. They felt loved. They found a place where they could rest from the craziness of life. We can too. He’s got this.