toilet paper – Grits with Grace

fear, food, gratitude, life, Scripture, Southern born, thankful, Trials

Bare Shelves–Faithful God

Posted on March 12, 2025March 3, 2025 by Dewayne Taylor

“So don’t worry, saying, What will we eat or what will we drink? or what will we wear? For [those who don’t trust God] eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” Matthew 6:31-32

I wonder did it really happen? Sometimes I ponder and think, “Did the world really shutdown five years ago when COVID raised its ugly head? Were the stores really closed and were the shelves really bare? Did it really happen?” Well, of course, the answer is yes but I still can’t wrap my head around it all. Imagine…bare shelves in America and leading the charge—toilet paper. Go figure. It really was strange to go to the store and find everyday things not there every day.

I’m not much for going grocery shopping and that is probably a real paradox. I really like food–we are great friends–just not buying and preparing it. I remember sometime during the COVID famine Judy and I went to the park for a walk (good idea–walk with your wife…she cooks food) and then I agreed to go with her to WalMart to get a few items.

So, we get to the store and there was in fact plenty of food there. For sure some items were sold out (toilet paper—remember that? Still have a supply stashed?) but others were plenteous. Cookies were hard hit but strangely broccoli wasn’t. But the shocker was when I got to the bread isle it was empty…bare. For a southern boy who was raised to believe that bread is its own food group, well, that was a crisis of Biblical proportions.

It made me think about the children of Israel and their trips to the grocery store. For forty years they would walk outside the camp and there all around them were little mounds of manna. The Bible describes manna as small, round and sweet (Krispy Kreme’s?) and it was always there. Never a time did they go out when the store was open (it was closed for the Sabbath) and the shelf was bare.

God was teaching them—and us—something. They couldn’t hoard (can someone say toilet paper?) because God told them to go out every day and get one day’s supply. The only exception was the day before the Sabbath when they could get two. And every day they went and there were the “Krispy Kreme’s” all around and they would pick them up and God would say, “I am good, I am faithful, and I can be trusted.”

Day after day, week after week, month after month–“I am good, I am faithful, and I can be trusted.” Never a bare shelf, never a failure to deliver, never an oops. Can you imagine? As Jesus followers, I think we can and should. We may not have manna laying around today, but we do have the faithfulness of that same God. He takes care of His kids. You can bank on it.

Jesus talked about this in the Bible when He said, “So don’t worry, saying, What will we eat? or what will we drink? or what will we wear? For [those who don’t trust God] eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” Let that soak in. We don’t ever have to worry because we have a Dearest Daddy who loves us and cares for us. Period.

So, as we reflect on the past and present, and look forward to the days to come, we can rest in the blessed assurance that God will be there. We need to remember every time there is a need met or a blessing given, to say, “Thank You, Father.” And slowly but surely, we will learn the valuable lesson of God’s faithfulness. God is good. God is faithful. God can be trusted. He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Family, fear, food, friends, gratitude, life, prayer, Scripture, thankful, Trials

Bare Shelves and God’s Faithfulness

Posted on February 23, 2023February 22, 2023 by Dewayne Taylor

So don’t worry, saying, What will we eat or what will we drink? or what will we wear? For [those who don’t trust God] eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” Matthew 6:31-32

One of the things (among at least two billion) that was weird about the time during and since COVID was the various shortages that we experienced. Some were expected and some were not. It really was (and still is) a strange sensation to go to the store and find everyday things not there every day. Oh, and did I mention inflation? It seemed like the land of plenty had become something else.

I’m not much for going grocery shopping and that is probably a real paradox. I really like food–we are great friends–just not buying and preparing it. I remember sometime last year Judy and I went to the park for a walk (good idea–walk with your wife…she cooks food) and then I agreed to go with her to WalMart to get a few items.

So, we get to the store and there was in fact plenty of food there. For sure some items were sold out (toilet paper—remember that? Still have a supply stashed?) but others were plenteous. The cookie isle was hard hit but strangely the broccoli wasn’t. But the shocker was when I got to the bread isle it was empty…bare. For a southern boy who was raised to believe that bread is its own food group, well, that was a crisis of Biblical proportions.

Jesus talked about this in the Bible when He said, “So don’t worry, saying, What will we eat? or what will we drink? or what will we wear? For [those who don’t trust God] eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” Let that soak in. We don’t have to worry because we have a Dearest Daddy who loves us and cares for us. Period.

Family, forgiveness, friends, Grace, life, loving others, Scripture, thankful

This is God

Posted on February 1, 2022January 31, 2022 by Dewayne Taylor

Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” Matthew 7:5

I got to play God once…no, really. One evening, and it must be at least 15 years ago, I got to play God…or at least the voice of God. It was one of those evenings when you didn’t need air conditioning. It was about 10:30 at night and I was lying in bed. Next to the bed was a window and since it was such a nice evening it was open. It was so close that I could reach out and touch it. Because we live basically downtown in our small town, night noises are common. I hadn’t yet fallen asleep, so I was just lying and listening to the night sounds. Then I heard it.

The alley that runs right next to our property and our house is paved with oil and chip…a covering of small pieces of rock that gives a nice crunching sound when a car drives over. It is not an uncommon sound unless it is late at night and the car stops right next to your house. As soon as the car stopped, I could hear the sounds of giggles that can only belong to young teenage girls. I eased out of bed and knelt next to the open window. From my second-floor window I had a bird’s eye view of what was unfolding belong me.

Like the poem, The Night Before Christmas, I looked and “what to my wondering eyes did appear” not one, but two young teen girls gleefully covering my back yard in toilet paper. The young ladies attended the church where I pastored and one of their moms was driving the getaway car. I smiled a slow smile just wondering what to do with this. And then, it occurred to me. Since I kinda work for God why not speak for Him? So, I did.

From the raised window, and in my best God voice, I said, “This is God. What are you two girls doing?” Oh, my goodness…it was incredible. In an instant, both girls went into total panic mode. Paper rolls went flying, arms were flailing in the air and mom was racing the motor in the car. In total chaos, they both tried to get into the car at the same time. It was priceless. After several attempts they finally made it and off they went speeding down the alley. I was rolling on the floor.

Well, if I remember right, that was a Saturday night and the next morning at church I said something like, “Good morning, ladies. How are you today?” Their response was a combination of eyes wide open, eyebrows raised and a mischievous smile. I don’t remember saying anything more…except maybe in a sermon several weeks down the road. I mean, who could pass up an opportunity like that?

I think it was ok that night to do a kind of impersonation of God. My voice really isn’t deep enough but I gave it my best shot. Impersonating God is a very common occurrence…too many of us do it all the time. It usually isn’t a voice from a second story window but rather the voice of a judge speaking from the bench…pronouncing some sort of judgment on another poor soul. It seems we get pleasure from judging others. I think it might make us feel bigger while making them feel smaller.

It’s certainly not a new thing. The Bible is full of words and warnings about playing judge in place of God. My favorite is when Jesus uses an illustration about some guy who has a big log sticking out of his eye. That guy walks over to his buddy and says, “Hey dude…you need to get the splinter out of your eye.” Jesus was certainly the master storyteller and in this case His point was clear. Who are we to judge anybody when our faults are often bigger than theirs? And besides that, aren’t we supposed to leave the judging to the Judge? Uh, that would be a yes.

Well, if you are ever given the opportunity to use your God voice to scare a couple of young teens, aw, go for it. It was a blast. But the next time you are tempted to cast a stone or take a seat on the Judge’s seat…you might want to resist the urge. The same Bible that talks about leaving the judging to the Judge talks about if you judge others…you might just find yourself being judged by your peers. And some of them aren’t too kind. And if you’ve been judged, tried, and convicted by one of those unlawful judges don’t worry about it. There is only one Judge that matters, and He is on your side. So, rest easy…He’s got this.

Family, fear, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, Scripture, thankful, Trials

All That Glitters

Posted on November 18, 2021November 16, 2021 by Dewayne Taylor

I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content.” Philippians 4:12a

It was a while back, but I remember it well. I woke up to find my neighbor’s yard covered with gold. I am an early riser. Well, actually, I am a crazy, early riser. Normally, my bladder and I decide it is about time to get up at around 4:30…am. If you want to see what a quiet world looks like…try it at 4:30 in the morning. These days the sun isn’t even close to waking up yet. He won’t make his appearance for another couple of hours. I usually get up, make some coffee in my magic Keurig machine, watch the weather, and have some God time. Predictable…just the way I like it.

Part of that routine is to eventually take a peek out one of the windows to see if the sun is peeking above the horizon. Naturally that means looking to the East. That eventful Saturday morning I did exactly that. As I looked out the window, I noticed that my neighbor’s yard was covered with gold. I couldn’t believe it. What made this even more unusual was the fact that my neighbor at the other end of our alley had struck it rich too. This was incredible. And, if that wasn’t enough, when I was walking a few days earlier, one of my friend’s hit the jackpot. Gold was everywhere. Now you might think that I was jealous…but I wasn’t—not this time. You see, their yards had been “papered” as in with toilet paper. It wasn’t pretty.

Now you are wondering, “I’m just a bit confused.” You said their yards were covered with gold. That doesn’t sound like gold to me.” Well, you’ve got a point there. But let’s step back to last year. COVID was all the rage. People were doing all kinds of strange things. When you went to the grocery store there were certain things, things that you would expect, out of stock. Hand sanitizer was a pipe dream. Bleach wipes were the things of legend. Certain food items were long gone from the shelves. It was a shopper’s nightmare. But there was one thing that topped them all. Toilet paper.

For whatever reason, and it still remains a mystery, people began to hoard toilet paper. It was like gold. People were selling it on e-bay for unbelievable prices. There were even people on the side of the road hawking their rolls of gold for ten, even fifteen times the ordinary price. The nightly news would show people coming out of stores with rolls of the stuff. It. Was. Crazy. Then as people realized that this probably wasn’t Armageddon, two things happened. The rolled gold was back in stock and the price plummeted. People that had bought tons of this stuff as an investment of sorts were stuck holding the bag. Ha-ha…the joke…or rolls…were on them.

Now here is what was amazing. I woke up only to discover my neighbor’s yard is covered in the very same thing that was gold. And listen, it wasn’t the cheap stuff. Since they weren’t home, Judy and I went over and picked up the mess…I know neighbor of the year, right? But when we did, I realized this was “Charmin Plus” or something. If toilet paper was gold this would be 24 karat and yet there it was lying out in the yard. Well, I guess all that glitters isn’t gold after all.

Thanks to a somewhat return to normalcy all that almost seems laughable. Almost. There is still plenty of strangeness, but hang in there. Don’t quit and don’t give up. The question comes to mind, in the meantime, what do we do? That’s a great question and here are a couple of answers. First, don’t lose hope. If I watch too much of the evening’s bad news, I find myself being convinced that life as we knew it is over. Well, it will be different, but it is far from over. One day, one way or the other, Mr. COVID and all his weirdness is going to pack up and leave town. One day it will be old news. Until then, just keep trusting…in God. One of the writers of Psalms in the Bible…someone just like you and me…wrote, “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.” What that means is if we are willing to delight in Him suddenly the things we desire… look a whole lot like His. And when that happens—hope explodes!

The second thing is to learn, or maybe relearn, the magic of contentment. While our old way of doing life has taken a vacation somewhere, a chunk of it will be back. Just like toilet paper made a comeback—so will normalcy. Now, until that time, just sit back and be content. I like what Paul, a guy in the Bible, said, “I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content.” What makes that incredibly valuable is that he wrote that sitting in a stinking Roman prison. Amazing.

Well, all that glitters is indeed not gold but all around us are golden nuggets from our Dearest Daddy. He whispers to us that He’s still around and still in control. Each sunrise and sunset, each new baby that bursts on the scene, each tree covered in color and glory shouts to us that we can rest in Him. Each new day is indeed a gift from Him and that is golden. Remember this…each day committed to trusting Him is a step in the right direction. Go ahead…trust Him…He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Family, fear, food, gratitude, life, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials, wisdom

Bare Shelves and a Faithful God

Posted on March 19, 2021March 18, 2021 by Dewayne Taylor

So don’t worry, saying, What will we eat or What will we drink? or What will we wear? For the [those who don’t trust God] eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” Matthew 6:31-32

One of the things (among at least two billion) that was weird about last year was the various shortages that we experienced. Some were expected and some were not. It really was a strange sensation to go to the store and find everyday things not there every day. It seemed like the land of plenty had become something else.

So, we get to the store and there was in fact plenty of food there. For sure some items were sold out (toilet paper—remember that? Still have a supply stashed?) but others were plenteous. The cookie isle was hard hit but strangely the broccoli wasn’t. But the shocker was when I got to the bread isle it was empty…bare. For a southern boy who was raised to believe that bread is its own food group, well, that was a crisis of Biblical proportions.

Day after day, week after week, month after month–“I am good, I am faithful and I can be trusted.” Never a bare shelf, never a failure to deliver, never an oops. Can you imagine? If you are a Jesus follower I think we can and should. We may not have manna laying around today but we do have the faithfulness of that same God. He takes care of His kids. You can bank on it.

Jesus talked about this in the Bible when He said, “So don’t worry, saying, What will we eat? or What will we drink? or What will we wear? For [those who don’t trust God] eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” Let that soak in. We don’t have to worry because we have a Dearest Daddy who loves us and cares for us. Period.

So, as we reflect on last year, and look forward to the days to come, we can rest in the blessed assurance that God will be there. We need to remember every time there is a need met or a blessing given, to say, “Thank You, Father.” And slowly but surely, we will learn the valuable lesson of God’s faithfulness. God is good. God is faithful. God can be trusted. He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne