Tag: showing love

Posted in communication, Family, love, loving others, marriage, priorities, Scripture

Valentine’s Day, Football and Love

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another.” John 13:34

Today is Valentine’s Day. It is a day that makes a whole lot of money for all the people who sell that kind of stuff—flowers, jewelry, eating, candy, gifts and all kinds of other stuff. I’m not sure who came up with the idea but like anything it has its good points and bad. If Valentine’s Day is just a day when you gotta do something special for  someone special—well that isn’t very meaningful. But, if it is a day when we “get to” do something special for someone special—well that is a game changer.

Did you know that Valentine’s Day is kinda like a game of football? Well, I think it is. You see, my wife Judy and I have been married for a pretty long time—almost 49 years. If the Lord is willing that means next year we will be celebrating 50 years of doing life together. Five decades—that is just unbelievable. Now there are two things I know. First, I believe we both would say it has been a great journey—not perfect, not by a long shot—but a great journey. Second, just like a football game has its up and downs—so does any marriage.

As I look back on the Valentine Days we have celebrated, it reads like a romantic barometer. There have been years when we have done a pretty good job celebrating this day. As an example, one year I remember I cooked a meal (imagine that) and set our living room up like a nice restaurant. I then had our daughter Sarah serve us dinner and then, get ready, we played some soft music and we danced. Trust me it was pretty romantic. Another time we went out to dinner and came home and watched one of our favorite movies, “Sleepless In Seattle.” That was a good one two.  The secret ingredient seemed to always have to do with quality time—when we made time for each other. You might want to write that one down.

And what was the biggest flop. Well, one year we decided that we really wouldn’t do anything for Valentine’s Day. It was probably one of those times when our pastor life led to a packed calendar and we were just wore out. So, I followed the plan, which was a bad one, and didn’t get a gift or a card. Like I said…bad. Well, anyway, I think Judy got a card for me card but I had nothing…did nothing. Judy was so disappointed. I should have known better. Did I mention bad? Well, the next day, I went and bought a gift and a card but it was way too late. hat day that I learned to never let Valentine’s Day be just another day. 

Like I said marriage and Valentine’s Day are a lot like a football game. No game is going to be perfect but trust me it is so important to win the game…to win the day and the best way to do that is to do your best and that day was not my best. It is not a matter of dollars and cents—it is often a matter of common sense. The one you chose and the one who chose you needs to know that you care—that you love them. So let’s be sure and not fumble the ball. The songwriter said that “love is a many splendid thing” and they were right. Sometimes the simplest thing can be the most splendid of things. 

God didn’t invent Valentine’s Day but He is the author of love and the creator of marriage. Today is an opportunity to show Him that we understand His love for us but showing our love for our special someone. So go ahead, grab the football today (metaphorically speaking) and run for the end zone. Not very good at romance? Me either but even in that department, we can know that, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Christmas, Family, gratitude, Holidays, life, loving others, Military memories, priorities, Southern born, thankful, USA

Care Packages

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!”
2 Corinthians 9:15

You never knew when they were coming.  When God and the Air Force decided to send us to Germany—well, it was an exciting adventure that we just thoroughly enjoyed.  But there was a downside…we were a long way from home…a real long way.  We were there from 1977 to 1980, we were young, and we were newlyweds.  Back then there were no cell phones and a landline call to the States was hugely expensive, so that just didn’t happen.  There was no internet.  The world moved at the speed of ship or a plane if you were lucky. The only option was snail mail and well, that could take a while.

Sometimes during the year, our parents would send us a box through the mail.  We called them “care packages.”  The reason was that when one came it was clear that someone back in the United States loved us and they cared—about us.  That was important because as much as we loved being there—there wasn’t home—or anywhere close to home.

There were two times a year that you could almost always count on a care package—that was somewhere around your birthday and then Christmas.  I can still feel the excitement as the days clicked by.  We didn’t know when, but we just knew that my Mama or Judy’s Mama would spend the money and equally as important take the time to say, “I love you.”  We would go to the Post Office every day, looking for the yellow slip in our mailbox that said, “You have a package.”  Instantly it was like Christmas Day.

We would open the box that day—that hour if possible.  There would be wrapped presents and those we would save till the special day.  But there would always be just stuff—candy, trinkets, small things that could only be gotten in America.  Sometimes there were home baked goodies and even if they were stale by then—they were still from home and we gladly ate them.

The care packages were an important link to home for us.  Like I said, it told us that someone was thinking of us—that we had not been forgotten.  What we need to realize, especially this morning, is that God is the greatest sender of care packages.  His ultimate gift, His Son, made the way so broken people like us could not only come into the presence of Holy God but that we could call Him Father.  The Jewish people could never understand that.  To them God was a far off, unapproachable deity that they worshiped.  But for Jesus followers—well we know Him as Dearest Daddy and that is not a term of disrespect or looseness—it is a term of His love for us and our love for Him.

Even in the midst of this incredibly difficult year, God has continued to send His care packages along the way.  The Bible tells us this day, and every day, is a day that He made.  He makes the air that we breathe. Everything…everything…that we eat, enjoy or own is a care package from Him.  Every sunrise and sunset, every perfectly different snowflake is a care package from Him.  And every single night that I lay my head down on my pillow in the peace He provides—well, that’s a care package too.

Now to be honest, sometimes we would get things in our care packages from home and wonder “what in the world they were thinking”.  I’m sure Judy and I laughed at more than few.  But do you know what?  Those things were notes of love too.  And the things that God allows and sends our way that we don’t understand—well, each one in its own way is a care package.

Well, the days of care packages are gone for us though we occasionally get one via UPS or Amazon Prime.  But they are rarely the same as days gone by.  But the care packages from God never change—He still sends them—every day—sometimes every minute.  He just loves us so much.  I hope regardless of your circumstances that you will make the choice to trust Him and to wait expectantly for His care packages.  Keep looking, keep waiting because each one tells us, “He’s got this.”