Tag: messes

Posted in forgiveness, Grace, gratitude, life, Scripture, thankful, Trials

Messes to Masterpieces

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10 

Messes. Yup…been there and done that. All of us have made a mess at one time or another. Sometimes it is a spilt drink at the dinner table. Sometimes something slips from our hand and onto the floor. Sometimes we get way too much paint on the brush or roller and we go from masterpiece maker to mess maker. The old saying says, “We shouldn’t cry over spilt milk” and I get it but sometimes it is just so frustrating. But wait! A spilt glass of milk or a splattering paint roller is one thing but what if the mess is a broken marriage?  A broken heart? What if the mess costs you thousands or a couple of years of your life? You see messes can have huge consequences.

I’m glad to let you know that when there is a mess on aisle three there is someone who can clean it up.  I’m glad to let you know that there is someone who can take the mess on the wall and turn it into a masterpiece. The other day I was reading a story that is pretty amazing and the best part is that it is true.  It all happened over a hundred years ago when a group of fishermen were relaxing in the dining room of a Scottish seaside inn, trading fish stories. Well, one of the men gestured widely, depicting the size of a fish that got away. Accidentally, his arm struck the server’s tea tray, sending the teapot flying into and on the whitewashed wall, where its contents left an irregular and very large brown splotch.

The innkeeper heard the commotion and came out of the kitchen and into the dining room. With a groan of dismay, he surveyed the damage and sighed, “The whole wall will have to be repainted.” “Perhaps not,” offered a stranger. “Let me work with it.” Having nothing to lose, the owner agreed. The man pulled pencils, brushes, some jars of linseed oil, and pigment out of an art box. He sketched lines around the stains and dabbed shades and colors throughout the splashes of tea. What happened next was almost too hard to believe.

After an hour or so, an image began to emerge: a stag with a great rack of antlers. It was nothing short of amazing. Then, the man who had turned the mess into a beautiful picture, signed his name at the bottom, paid for his meal, and left. His name: Sir Edwin Landseer, famous painter of wildlife. And what was not obvious soon became so.  In his hands, a mess became a masterpiece. Wait…think about it. A.Mess.Became.Masterpiece. Amazing.

But here is something more amazing.  You see, in God’s hands this happens time after time after time.  As He works in the messes of our lives He can take the biggest mess and turn it into the most magnificent masterpiece rendering them as beautiful expressions of His great love. The result is our lives become a gallery of pictures—examples of the incredible wealth of His favor and kindness towards us.

So let’s be honest. Messes are going to happen and no that isn’t an excuse for sloppy living but neither does it mean we are worthless and hopeless. No, we are His masterpieces—trophies of His amazing grace. Each day we see examples of His creative grace that are always signed—I’ve got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, food, forgiveness, friends, life, loving others, prayer, Scripture, thankful, Trials, wisdom

Losing Your Word Cookies

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” Luke 6:45

The sound came from a couple of seats in front of me.  There are two things that me and just about every other elementary school kid knew. First, if you wanted to gather a crowd, all you had to do was holler, “fight!”  Shout that one word and every kid within hearing distance would come running. The second thing is if you want to scatter a group of elementary school kids just let someone, “lose their cookies” and you can empty a room in a matter of seconds.

Now I am assuming that you know that “losing your cookies” has nothing to do with losing your cookies but everything to do with grossness. Losing your cookies is a nice way of saying that someone got sick to their stomach and…well we will stop there. It is never pleasant for anyone…whether it is a classroom, a parking lot, a ball field or a bathroom. I know for me it ranks right up there with losing your left arm in a shark attack.

When it happens at school, the custodian suddenly becomes everyone’s hero.  He shows up like a first responder…running in when everyone else is running out.  I remember so well he would show up with this red sawdust stuff.  He would spread it on the floor and, just like magic, the mess was cleaned up and gone.  I don’t know if we every applauded him but he sure deserved it.

You know, not all messes are so easily cleaned up.  Sometimes when we misspeak, intentionally or otherwise or misuse our words, well, you might say, we lose our word cookies. Trust me…it is never good and the after effects are just about as unpleasant as losing your other cookies. Yuck, yuck and triple yuck. And there is good news and bad news when we lose our word cookies.  First, the bad news.  There is no red sawdust stuff to make it all go away.  Nope, no matter how sorry we might feel, the consequences are still there. Bummer.

Now the good news.  There is forgiveness.  I have done my share of losing my word cookies and I usually have the common courtesy and sense to ask the person to forgive me and thankfully they usually are graceful enough to do so.  And then there is God.  Losing your word cookies is not only unkind—it is a sin and when we sin, if we ask, our Dearest Daddy is more than willing to forgive us.  I like that…a lot…in fact,  I am plumb grateful.

Well, they say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and they are right.  Trying to set things straight is honorable but it is better not to put yourself in that position in the first place.  In other words, watch your words and don’t lose your cookies.  Jesus told us that our words are a reflection of what is in our hearts so if our words are sour it means are hearts are too. But remember, He can fix that too…just ask…because, He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne