helping others – Grits with Grace

fear, friends, gratitude, life, loving others, Scripture

Numbers Talk

Posted on March 2, 2026March 1, 2026 by Dewayne Taylor

“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Numbers talk. Take 2.29. Add a dollar mark and it becomes the price for a value meal at your local fast food place, or perhaps the price for gallon of gas…at least a while back. Add a colon and it becomes the time on a clock twice a day, early morning and mid-afternoon. Numbers talk. Take 4.5.6. At first glance they are three random sequential numbers—three numbers connected only by their sequence. I guess you could say it is a picture of our neighborhood—a couple of evens and one odd ball. Of course, you could place these numbers on a clock and they too would become a time that occurs twice a day, everyday…once early in the morning and once later in the afternoon. Numbers talk.

For the folks who live in the small Southern Illinois town of Harrisburg those numbers speak loudly and mournfully. The year was 2012 and it was a leap year with February having twenty-nine days…or letting the numbers talk it was 2.29. The National Weather Service had forecasted potentially dangerous weather, and some had taken the warning seriously. Others, softened by previous warnings, assumed it would be another false alarm. At 4:56 in the morning, or 4.5.6, a line of damaging storms tore through the Southwest side of Harrisburg and in that tangle of lightening, thunder, wind, and rain raged an F-4 tornado. For miles and miles, it tore through the countryside and several small towns…one of which was Harrisburg.

The tornado sirens were screaming their harrowing sound warning people of the impending disaster. I heard the sirens and yet stayed comfortably in my bed till Judy made me get up. My daughter and her husband were staying with us for the night and he and I went out the backdoor to see what we could see in the darkness. Looking Southeast, in a flash of lightening we saw, what could only be the tornado, as it ripped through that part of our small community. Before long, sirens were racing all through the town as police, fire and ambulances all raced to help those impacted by the storm. Streets were almost crowded with neighbors helping neighbors.

Daylight revealed the damage and destruction. Where homes and businesses stood, now were piles of debris. Much of that part of town was severely damaged and sadly, eight people were torn from our lives that day and many more were injured. Suddenly what we had seen so many times on the Weather Channel and the national news was in our backyard. It was amazing to see how help poured in from all over the nation. Various relief agencies, as well as hundreds of everyday people came to our town to help in any way they could. Churches, often separated by doctrine or denomination, came together to help the hurting. For the coming months, our church and other organizations would house and feed hundreds of volunteers who came to clean up and help rebuild the community. We mourned together, we worked together, and we came together, and through it all, we emerged a stronger community.

So, if this year was a leap year then yesterday would have been the 29th and not the first day of March and it would have been the fourteenth observance of the Harrisburg Leap Day tornado. I know that day is firmly etched in the minds and memories of everyone who lived in Harrisburg at the time. But also etched there is the beautiful and powerful unity that we experienced during the days that followed the 29th. Slowly, the physical scars have be repaired and rebuilt but the scars of those lost, of course, will remain forever.

There’s a verse in the Bible (written by a guy who was locked up in prison for nothing more than being a Jesus follower) that talks about how God can bring good from even the worse-case scenario. Now it doesn’t say that everything is good, because that just simply wouldn’t be true. But it does say for those who are willing to trust, those who are willing to look and see, that He can bring good. I know for me that is the memory of people coming together to help people. Religion and politics, social status, and separation were laid aside as people just helped. And, perhaps, that was when the seed was firmly planted in my heart that no matter what—how tall the mountain or wide the raging river, no matter how hot the fire or difficult the journey, that my Dearest Daddy, is in control. Perhaps that is when I knew, “He’s got this” and He still does. Bro. Dewayne

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

Boom, Crash, Ouch!

Posted on April 3, 2024April 2, 2024 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

Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, prayer, priorities, Scripture, Southern born, thankful, Trials

Backyard Cars

Posted on February 2, 2024January 30, 2024 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

Sometimes it seemed like a parking lot. We have all seen it, but I experienced it. As I have often said, there were certain benefits to growing up in an urban county. We weren’t country like horses and cows, but we were country like room to run, places to play and cars in the backyard. What? Yup. I know we have all seen yards where there are old cars hanging around the yard. I know each time I drive to Paducah down Route 145 in Southern Illinois I pass a house with an old Capri parked in the yard…permanently. Over the years that I have seen it, weeds and green algae have slowly grown over it. I’m not sure about the story behind the old Capri, but it is there year after year.

Over the years I lived at 6008 Carlton Road, we had several cars parked in our backyard. When my granddaddy Taylor died, we inherited his old Pontiac Sedan. I’m not sure what year it was but it was old…probably the late forties if I were to guess. I knew at least for a while it was a runner, but later on it became a sitter. Regardless, it was a great place to play and hide in a good game of hide and seek. This past week I was converting some old family movies to digital so we could watch them again. There is one simply titled, Alston and Leslie Taylor and their children – 1960’s. In the middle of the video there was my daddy, and he was working on the old Pontiac. It was good to see him again. It reminded me what a good man he was.

I have a feeling that there was a reason that he was working on granddaddy’s Pontiac. You see I remember that our main driver, a 1957 Plymouth, blew an engine so it was parked under the tree in the backyard. So, I think Daddy may have been working on the Pontiac so we would have something that would get us from here to there. The Plymouth sat there for quite a while. Motors were expensive and it would be a while before Momma and Daddy could scrape the money together to buy a rebuilt one. I know they eventually did, but until then it was the old Pontiac.

And then there was the Sunbeam. My brother Lee bought a car from somebody, and it was quite unusual. It was a British made car and it almost had that James Bond allure about it. I was trying to think how to describe it and simply put, it was cool. Well, it was cool until it quit running. You see, certain cars, and especially British ones, are hard to work on and expensive to repair. Well, somewhere along the road (no pun intended) it died. Rather than bury it, we just parked it in the backyard where it became one of the original storage sheds. We slowly stuffed it to the gills with—stuff.

Well, eventually the Plymouth got fixed, the Pontiac got hauled off and the Sunbeam went somewhere, and our backyard looked a little less like a small junkyard and more like a garden. Daddy had a love for growing roses, and I have to admit they looked a lot better than the old cars that adorned our yard for a season. Thinking back, I wonder what people thought about the old-World War II barracks turned house with a car or two parked in the backyard. I wonder if they, like me, like you, were tempted to judge the people that lived there?

I wonder if they ever pondered why the house needed painting most of the time or why there were old junk cars sitting in the yard? I wonder if they thought the people who lived there were lazy or unkept? Well, in the case of 6008 Carlton Road they would have been wrong in both cases. My Daddy was a hard worker making sure the folks under his care had food and clothes. He worked until his heart said no, and even then, he found a job as a security guard. Momma worked hard taking care of us. She poured her life into our lives and made sure there was supper on the table and clean clothes to wear. I would suppose they both were too busy pulling it all together to worry what people thought.

I know this. When I drive south to Paducah and pass that old house with the overgrown Capri in the front yard, it won’t be thoughts of judgement that pass through my mind. Instead, I will remember two people who worked hard to make life possible for me, and my brothers and sisters. And then I will remember that until I have walked in someone’s shoes, I have no business looking down on anyone. Most folks don’t wake up some morning and just decide to have their world go south. Sometimes it just happens. But what I do know is that Jesus, the Man a lot of us have committed to follow, wouldn’t cast a rock, rather He would lend a hand.

One day a couple of Jesus followers were going to church, and they passed by a man who couldn’t walk. The guy was begging and that was the honorable thing to do given there was no security net for help in those days. He looked up and the two Jesus guys looked down. They said, “You know, we don’t have any money, but we do have an answer. And right there, right then, they reached down and in the name of Jesus they healed the guy. He got up, did a little dance and they all went to church together. How about that? So, who can you help today? What house have you driven by so many times before but perhaps today you need to stop? I know in a world of risks, that can be hard but hey, I know Someone who will help make it happen. His name is Jesus and He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Read more stories on the blog: http://www.gritswithgrace.com

Family, friends, gratitude, life, loving others, prayer, priorities, Scripture, Southern born, thankful, Trials

Backyard Cars

Posted on March 28, 2023March 27, 2023 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

Sometimes it seemed like a parking lot. We have all seen it, but I experienced it. As I have often said, there were certain benefits to growing up urban county. We weren’t country like horses and cows, but we were country like with room to run, places to play and cars in the backyard. What? Yup. I know we have all seen yards where there are old cars hanging around the yard. I know each time I drive to Paducah down Route 145 in Southern Illinois I pass a house with an old Capri parked in the yard…permanently. Over the years that I have seen it, weeds and green algae have slowly grown over it. I’m not sure about the story behind the old Capri, but it is there year after year.

Over the years I lived at 6008 Carlton Road, we had several cars parked in our backyard. When my granddaddy Taylor died, we inherited his old Pontiac Sedan. I’m not sure what year it was but it was old…probably the late forties if I were to guess. I know at least for a while it was a runner, but later it became a sitter. Regardless, it was a great place to play and hide in a good game of hide and seek. A while back I was converting some old family movies to digital so we could watch them again. There is one simply titled, Alston and Leslie Taylor and their children – 1960’s. In the middle of the video there was my daddy, and he was working on the old Pontiac. It was good to see him again. It reminded me what a good man he was.

And then there was the Sunbeam. My brother Lee bought a car from somebody, and it was quite unusual. It was a British made car and it almost had that James Bond allure about it. I was trying to think how to describe it and simply put, it was cool. Well, it was cool until it quit running. You see, certain cars, and especially British ones, are hard to work on and expensive to repair. Well, somewhere along the road (no pun intended) it died. Rather than bury it, we just parked it the backyard where it became one of the original storage sheds. We slowly stuffed it to the gills with—stuff.

Well, eventually the Plymouth got fixed, the Pontiac got hauled off and the Sunbeam went somewhere, and our backyard looked a little less like a small junkyard and more like a garden. Daddy had a love for growing roses and I have to admit they looked a lot better than the old cars that adorned our yard for a season. Thinking back, I wonder what people thought about the old World War II barracks turned house with a car or two parked in the backyard. I wonder if they, like me, like you, were tempted to judge the people that lived there?

I wonder if they ever pondered why the house needed painting most of the time or why there were old junk cars sitting in the yard? I wonder if they thought the people who lived there were lazy or unkept. Well, in the case of 6008 Carlton Road they would have been wrong on both cases. My Daddy was a hard worker making sure the folks under his care had food and clothes. He worked until his heart said no, and even then he found a job as a security guard. Momma worked hard taking care of us. She poured her life into our lives and made sure there was supper on the table and clean clothes to wear. I would suppose they both were too busy pulling it all together to worry what people thought.