Tag: Psalm 139:14

Posted in communication, Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, prayer, Scripture, sovereignty of God, spiritual battles, thankful, travel

Perfectly Amazing

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.” Psalm 139:14

Great lessons can often be found just about anywhere. I saw this one recently when we were pulling into town after our last great adventure. The first stop was to buy some gas for our red Mustang convertible. She went with us on our journey to Florida and Georgia and I must admit it was like walking with the cutest girl in town. I was in traffic waiting to get on the Navy base in Pensacola, Florida to go to the museum when I heard a voice. No, it wasn’t God. It was the guy driving the big delivery truck right next to me. He said, “Hey, you want to trade rides.” I told him no and just smiled from ear to ear. Our little redhead got an amazing 34 miles to the gallon, but she was thirsty, so we stopped at Walmart to fill up.

From there we headed toward home. There are several ways to get to our house, so I decided to hang a right on Church Street. It confused our GPS but sometimes something different is good…and profitable. As we passed the Intermediate School, also known as East Side School, I saw something on their digital sign that caught my eye. Here is what it said. Are you ready?  It said, “You don’t have to be perfect to be amazing.” The message, though simple, was quite profound. So much so that I asked Judy, “Did you see that?”  She didn’t so I repeated the message and not surprisingly…she agreed.

You don’t have to be perfect to be amazing. How about that? Often, we are so wrapped up in our culture of perfectionism that we spend our lives trying to be someone we aren’t. You see, and you need to remember this, no one except one, was, is or will ever be perfect. That one was the One—Jesus. But our culture is busily selling us the idea that perfection is just a shot, a diet, a career change away. But trust me—you weren’t made perfect but wait—there is more. You weren’t made perfect, but you were made amazing.

The Bible tells us that God made us—not some of us, but all of us—fearfully and wonderfully. In other words, God made us—amazing. And guess what—that has nothing to do with being perfect—but it does have everything to do with understanding what God says matters so much more than what culture says and sells. So if you struggle with what you see in the mirror, if you struggle because someone thinks they were placed on earth to keep you in your place, if you struggle trying to keep up with the Jones—give it up. The only thing that matters is the opinion of the One who made you. The.One.Who.Made.You.

Someone might think you are crazy (but we just learned that doesn’t matter) but the next time you are feeling a little beaten up or someone has made you feel a little less than, just remember this serving of Grits, get before the mirror, and speak this truth out loud—I am not perfect but I am amazing because God said so and He is always right. And then be sure and remember this. No matter what and no matter what others say—He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, life, Scripture, thankful, wisdom

Goose-Land, Part 2 “I Quit”

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Psalm 139:14

“I Quit.”  I could almost hear the words coming from his beak. Yesterday was “walk in the park day” and the ducks and geese were doing their thing.  If you haven’t made a trip to the park to just watch the geese and ducks you really should.  It is so interesting to see how they interact with one another.  There are a couple of stories at gritswithgrace.com if you would like to go back and read them.

Yesterday I was in lap two of three and I saw something that really caught my attention and captured my heart.  You probably know that geese like to hang together.  They will be “gaggling” together and suddenly, it is as if someone, the gaggle leader will give a nod or a honk and everyone will burst into flight.  They rise from the ground or the water as one, like a flight of aircraft from a military flight.  They quickly take formation and off they go into the wild blue yonder.

As I was walking across the stone bridge at the park the order was given and about seven geese took off.  I was pretty close and it was pretty impressive.  With a flush of honking and flapping, they rose into the sky as one.  Goose One, the flight leader carefully led the group over the bridge and down to the far end of the pond.  They took off as one and they flew as one all except…one.

As they flew by at full power I happened to notice one of the group still on the ground.  He was a young adult goose but definitely old enough to take to the air.  His body was well groomed, every feather in place.  From where I stood he looked like he could…he should be airworthy.  But as his friends took flight…he took a look around.  There they went and there he sat.  It was what happened next that was so unusual.  He suddenly started to run.  Paralleling the edge of the pond he started running as fast as his little legs would carry him.  It seemed he was sayings, “Hey guys, wait for me.”

He ran for about fifteen yards and then he stopped and went down the bank into the water, paddling furiously, heading for where he thought his friends and family had gone.  The last time I saw him he was still paddling away shouting, “Hey, wait for me.”  After getting over the amusement of watching him waddle and paddle, my heart was captured.  I found myself asking the obvious question, “Why?”

Why waddle when you can soar?  Why paddle when you can fly?  Why get left behind when you could be in the middle of the party?  I am not an expert in goose anatomy but he had all the equipment to fly and all the equipment seemed to be working. I really don’t know, but it seemed I heard him muttering as he waddled with all his might.  Although I’m not fluent in goose, it seemed he was saying, “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.”  And then, right before he went into the water he said, “I quit.”  How sad.

He was made to fly.  He was made to soar, but he chose, he settled, for waddling and paddling.  He chose for second best.  You see, you can be the best waddler in the world and that is fine…unless you were made to soar.  The view from the ground is never as magnificent as the view from the sky.  If his equipment was broken, if it was just a matter of a few more flight lessons well, that would be a different story.  But what if it was just a matter of not believing—in himself and the One who made him?

If you look around, and maybe as close as the bathroom mirror, you might see someone who stopping believing.  You might see someone who has tried and failed enough that they no longer believe anything is possible.  You might see someone who stopped believing that God makes masterpieces and started believing that God made a mess.  Well, let me tell you something.  God doesn’t make junk and He doesn’t make messes. The Psalmist said it right, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Fearfully and wonderfully made.  That is you and that is me.  If you find yourself on the shore, waddling when you designed to soar…start believing again.  Start believing in you, start believing in Him and start believing that with Him…all things are possible.  Don’t let the circumstances around you right now—the division, the virus, the uncertainty keep you on the ground.  You were made to fly, to soar!  Why not crawl up into the lap of your Dearest Father, rest in Him and just believe?  Believe the truth…that He’s got this.