Tag: stories to share

Posted in Family, fear, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, loving others, missions, prayer, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, travel, Trials

Miracles

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:37

Well, there are miracles and then there are miracles.  One of the great adventures that Judy and I have been privileged to be a part of are the church mission trips.  Specifically, mission trips to Africa.  For the past 15 or 16 years, our church has been an active participant in mission adventures.  One of our favorite places to serve was and is Africa.  We started in Niger and then had to move a little south to the country of Mali.  We were privileged to serve there for several years.

I can’t explain how incredible it is to go on a mission adventure.  I also can’t really explain the draw that so many feel led to this place called Africa. Where this story begins was a difficult place.  We would stay in the bush, often sleeping on the ground in tents.  The temperature would hover over 100 degrees.  I have one picture that showed a thermometer with a reading 125 degrees.  The food, well, let’s just say it wasn’t McDonald’s.  So, what is it that causes people to step way out of their comfort zones just to serve others.  This story is part of that answer.

We were on a medical trip in Mali and the days were long and fruit was plentiful.  We had a full team including two medical doctors and several nurses.  They would treat the physically broken and we would try and share the truth of God’s love to the spiritually broken.  We would tell stories of Jesus and how He would go and help people.  We then would simply explain that we wanted to be like Him and help others.  We explained that people who knew Jesus in America had bought and paid for the medicine that they were receiving.  It was free to them because someone else paid the price.  It was always a great lead into the gospel stories because Jesus did the same for us.

Well, it was the end of a long day.  Most of us had wandered back to camp and were sitting around and chatting about the day’s activities.  Suddenly someone ran into the camp and shouted that there was an emergency back at the clinic.  We all rushed back over and what we found was grim…very grim.  A little girl, about nine if I remember correctly, had been climbing a tree.  She was about twenty-five feet up in the air when she slipped and fell—landing directly on her face.  Her father had carried her on a Moto (a small motorcycle) about three or four miles.  She was semi-conscious and unresponsive.

Two things happened simultaneously.  First, the doctors when to work and the saints went to praying.  Her pupils were unresponsive and though she was breathing, her respirations were rapid and shallow.  About an hour later the doctors said it was probably only a matter of time, her brain injuries seemed very serious.  I slipped into my pastor mode and wondered what an African funeral was like.  The doctors took turns sitting with her through the night, and then took her to the nearest first aid station. This part is fuzzy, but it seems like at some point the father went ahead and took her back to her village.

The next day we went back to work with a somewhat heavy heart.  And then something happened…we heard that the little girl had woken up.  We then heard that she was speaking and walking around.  We then heard that she was responding and acting almost completely normal.  “What is this,” I wondered.  Again, if I remember correctly either that day or the next the father brought his little girl back to the doctors and there she stood.  A living, breathing, miracle.  It can be described as nothing else.  God had heard the prayers of His children and chosen to reach down from heaven and touch this little girl and give her back her life.  It.Was.A.Miracle.

Many of us have been to Africa many times and we have seen more than one miracle.  Sometimes it looked like this, sometimes it was God acting to avoid a tragedy and sometimes it like a frog strangling rainstorm when it hadn’t rained for months and months.  But each time it was obvious that God was still God and He can do what He wants, when He wants.  After all, He is God.  For the skeptics out there, who think that God doesn’t do the miracle thing—that it died out in the old days—well, that little girl would beg to differ with you.

Tucked away in the book of Luke, incidentally, written by a physician in Jesus’ day, are some words that say it all.  It says, “For nothing shall be impossible with God.” Nothing. Period. Seven words that can shake your world and this world. So, what is rocking your world today?  Family or health? Wondering about tomorrow or the next meal?  Worried about our country?  Well, I don’t know what God has planned—after all I’m in sales and not management—smile. But I do know that nothing is too big for Him to handle.  Just like that little girl in Africa who discovered she could lay down and rest in Him—so can you.  After all…He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, loving others, prayer, Scripture, thankful, Trials

A Rose is Still a Rose

Posted on 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

What are the chances? What are the chances that a piece of broken tack (part of a horse or mule’s saddle) would dangle in just the wrong place and cause her to think a bee was trying to sting her? What are the chances that during the chaos the saddle would come loose causing the rider to fall off—hard—hurt but not dead—hurt but not too broken? And what are the chances that all of this would happen, oh, let’s say an hour and a half from their vehicle? And finally, what are the chances that this same rider would later fall off again—not from a mule but from a horse? Well, the odds may be slim but that is exactly what happened.

After Daisy, the mule, got goosed (see Grits from July 30, 24), we decided it might be best for me to walk awhile to maybe help clear my head. So, we both walked, as my friend led Daisy and a horse named Rose, for about 45 minutes. When we reached a place where we could tie up Daisy and Rose and let us take a rest—we did.  By this time, I was pretty much shot, and my arm was—like me—pretty much useless. After a few more minutes, we decided that I would ride Rose, the horse, and my friend would ride Daisy, the mule. With a little help from a log, I was able to get on Rose and soon we were plodding along. Keep in mind, we were still over an hour from our truck.

Well, we prodded and plodded until finally we came to the truck and trailer.  I like trucks but that day I was so glad to see this one I could have hugged and kissed it. Now just one more thing remained—to get off the horse. There was a large piece of concrete that I had used to get on Daisy at the start of the ride, so it just made sense to use it to get off Rose.  It was a plan. It sounded simple enough…until we tried to do it. Here we go and here is where lightning struck twice.

We came up to the concrete and discovered that my injured arm and shoulder just wouldn’t work. So, I tried to get off the horse, but with one arm there was no way I could get my right leg over Rose. My friend offered to help, and I gratefully said yes. So, my left foot was on the concrete, my right leg was halfway off the horse and just about that time—Rose decided to take a couple of steps back.  Suddenly, my left leg was in midair, and my right leg was just over the top of Rose, and you can probably guess what happened.  Yep…with nothing but air to stand on I promptly and painfully fell off the horse and once again onto the very hard ground. We both couldn’t believe it but trust me, most of all my body couldn’t believe it. It found new places to hurt…places I didn’t even know I had.

Well, I went to the truck and let my friend load the animals. I knew he felt bad but none of it was his fault. I knew I felt bad because my body was telling me so. I don’t know about Daisy or Rose but both are good animals, so they probably felt bad too. But I’ve asked myself this question. If I could have changed something would I do it? Honesty, part of me says yes and part of me says no.  I love the brother that I was with—he is one of the best men I know. I wanted to spend time with him.  He is an “iron sharpens iron” kind of guy and he is good for me. I saw that in how he handled my falling off mules and horses thing. To see how he responded to this adversity strengthened me.

And then there is the yet to be written part of this story.  How is God going to cause good from all of this? What lessons am I going to learn that maybe couldn’t have been learned any other way? And of course, there is the fact this is a great story to tell—a guy falling off a mule and a horse all on the same day and the same trip—and living to tell about it.  I can just here it now when my grandkids ask, “Papa, tell us about the day” and I do and I get to end the story with this one great truth…He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne