Tag: travel

Posted in Uncategorized, Scripture, thankful, gratitude, wisdom, sovereignty of God

Wrong Turn

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

 They thought I took a wrong turn. If the truth was known, all of us make a lot of wrong turns in life. The other day we returned from a great cruise in the Southern Caribbean. While there were plenty of highlights, the granddaddy of them all had to be when we did a partial transit of the Panama Canal. A partial transit simply means we went through three of the locks, turned around in the largest manmade lake in the world and then returned back through the locks. They say that the Panama Canal is one of man’s greatest building achievements and I would have to agree. It is something that you have to see to believe.

Well, what goes up most come down and all trips like this one had to come to an end. So, after twelve days and a wakeup, we found ourselves back in Fort Lauderdale. My wife Judy and I had largely been disconnected from the world–which spiritually thinking isn’t a bad thing but weather wise it can be quite shocking.  I was dressed in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt so you can imagine my shock and surprise when I stepped off the ship and it was…gasp…forty-one degrees. Trust me that is not what you expect that far south! Yikes.

Well, we headed north but this time we knew what we were facing.  The weather people were calling for a major winter storm just a few days after we returned home and as you can tell–they were entirely right. This morning’s low was near zero and we have eight to ten inches of snow on the ground. More than one person said, “You turned the wrong way…you should have turned south and not north.” Well, the truth is there is a lot of truth in that. But the truth is also this–home was north and we were ready for home–even if it meant freezing.

A turn is not wrong if it is leading to the place you should go–you need to go–and this time that meant home. My heart was telling me it was time to go home–even if the temperature was telling me something different. While we can’t always trust our hearts…the Bible tells us that…we can truth the God who made our heart. He will never lead us astray.  Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” In our case that path led us straight to home. And, as you know there is no place like home.  Oh and don’t forget there’s nothing better than knowing that no matter what–He’s got this. God bless you and have a blessed day.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in friends, gratitude, life, New Year, Scripture

The Kitchen is Closed–For a While

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1

The Kitchen is Closed–For a While 

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1

I guess it is time for a break. It was way back in the Spring of 2020 when we started meeting together each morning it the kitchen. It was then that we started cooking Grits with Grace and along the way we have shared so many memories together. During those years, when we travelled or whatever I always tried to publish ahead so we could still meet.

Well, starting today, we are going to close the Grits kitchen–but just for a little while. My wife Judy and I are going to be “out of pocket” for several weeks so we are going to take a Grits sabbatical. But don’t worry–it is our full intention to open the kitchen back up–probably around January 26th. So what should we to do in the mean time? Glad you asked!

Don’t forget we have a “food truck” and that is our Grits website. The address is gritswithgrace.com and you can reach it on your computer OR any mobile device with a browser–iPhone, iPad, android, and even on your Amazon device. There you will find all the stories from over the years. You can search by date, a keyword, or a topic. You will find stories that have published once and some that have ran several times–but each one was fresh or freshened.

So, while the kitchen is closed, you can still enjoy your daily helping of Grits–and I hope you will. Please be sure and share this information with all your Grits friends. If you regularly share Grits, share this too. I want to thank each of you for reading and sharing and we look forward to opening the kitchen–again, around January 26th. God bless you as we start this New Year and until we get together again, remember, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, life, Scripture, travel, Trials

Some Assembly Required

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.” Psalm 19:7-8

I came so close, but missed it by a mile. A couple of years ago I was checking out the WalMart clearance aisle and came upon a bike carrier thing for your car.  Well, I happen to own two bikes and even occasionally ride them, so I bought it.  I brought it home and put it on a shelf where it happily lived.  And then, I decided to be cool.

My wife Judy and I try to exercise regularly–sometimes we walk and hike but we also like to ride our bikes. Well, we are always looking for new roads and trails to ride. We decided to expand our horizons so we found a bike trail down at Fort Massac and decided to load up the bikes and give it a try.  So I went and found the bike thing and proceeded to try assemble it.  Note the word try.

I dumped the parts on the kitchen counter  (first hint that I am not a mechanic) and then it happened.  Because it involved attaching this thing to my car and the fact that it involved two bikes being attached to this thing and the fact that I didn’t want to get sued if they fell off the thing—I read the directions.  That is the miracle.  Everyone knows that men don’t stop and ask for directions when driving and we don’t read the directions when we are putting something together.  That is not manly.  Ask for directions, read the directions and it is almost an automatic surrender of your man-card.

I decided to risk being disbarred and read the directions anyway.  Now let me say it proved that we men are justified in not reading them in the first place.  Whoever wrote these directions obviously didn’t have a clue about the bike thing or the English language.  But I gave it due diligence and proceeded to assemble it.  It only had about six major parts, so hey, it couldn’t be that hard.  Right? Wrong.

After about an hour, yes, I said an hour, the six parts were assembled.  Judy and I took this thing out and try to strap it to the back of our car.  I have used one of these before and this one just didn’t make sense.  There was one part of the rack that had some sharp parts and I could see this thing doing some serious damage to the car.  Well, after an hour, we had it sorta mounted and even put the bikes on it.  Something just didn’t seem right.  My final thought was, “What did you expect for $15 bucks.  So I took the bikes off, threw the thing in the garage and called it a day.  I didn’t want to ride the bike anyway.

I went back in the work room (aka the kitchen) and began picking up the mess.  When I grabbed the box this thing came in I looked inside.  And there, wedged neatly inside, was a part, a really big part, a really important part.  Oops. As I thought about it I did remember reading something about this middle brace thing, but I thought the guy in China was probably on a rant or something.  So I pulled out the part and had an epiphany…my ah-ha moment.  I brought the thing back in, disassembled too much of it, and attached the new found part.  Ta-da—it all made sense.  Amazing.  Miraculous.

Now the crazy ending to this crazy story is that we put the thing back on my car, put the bikes back on the thing and I still didn’t feel like it looked safe.  I could hear the lawyer calling.  “Yes, we are calling to sue you for everything you have because your bike fell off this thing attached to your car.  Will you be paying with cash, credit card, or your left arm?”  So, the bottom line …the thing stayed in the garage along with the bikes.  Stupid directions.  They must be related to the watermelon.

Here is what I learned.  Man-card or not, it is beneficial to read the directions.  I know it goes against everything we men hold dear but we just need to be over-comers and read them.  But, and it is a big but, you really need to read them carefully and then do what they say.  I halfway read them and ended up leaving a big, important part in the box.  That cost me time, frustration and a chunk of my pride.  Bummer.

I asked myself, “If reading the instructions on putting a bike thing together are important, I wondering if it is important to read “the Instructions,” aka, the Bible.” I mean the Bible is like the most important instruction manual of all time.  And the answer was clear. Yes.  I should, we should, read it carefully and apply it fully.  There is probably a paragraph on the instructions for the bike thing that tells me how important the instructions are…to ready them carefully. I didn’t read that part.

Well, the Bible has a lot to say about, “Hey, read this…it is really important.”  It goes like this, “The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.” And somewhere it should say you will have fewer calls from lawyers if you read it. Fewer regrets, fewer consequences, fewer disasters.  Yup.  Read them and apply them. If you choose to read, follow and apply “the Instruction manual” you won’t regret it.  It says in there that if we follow the instructions we can rest in Him.  Oh and it also says, “I’ve got this.”  He does.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in birthday, Family, Grace, gratitude, Scripture, sovereignty of God

Fleas–A Story of Favor

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Can God use fleas? A while back, I ran a story about Corrie ten Boom and fleas. Corrie was a holocaust survivor and she told how she learned to thank God for the fleas that infested her barracks.  The fleas were so bad that the German officers refused to enter which allowed the women to be at least partially free from their harassment. Well, turns out that the Chappell part of the Taylor tribe has a small flea story of our own.

So, really, through nobody’s fault, the Chappell house had a flea problem.  Gratefully these unwanted guests stayed in the basement.  Well, they tried everything from sprays to bombs and of course collars and pills for their pets.  Nothing seemed to work. Finally, someone had the idea to call an exterminator to see what they could do.  So Terminix was called for an estimate, and they got the job.

As the story goes, my grandson Taylor has been taking up riding skateboards.  In just a few weeks, he got pretty good. For his birthday, his mom and dad wanted to get him a better board. So, when the guy came by from Terminix to give the estimate, somehow the conversation turned to skateboarding and it turns out this guy used to be a semi-pro rider.  It also turned out that he really likes to help kids learn and become more involved in boarding.

So, guess what? He offered to give Taylor a used but in great condition board. How cool is that?  A few days later, when it came time for Taylor’s birthday, he had a cool board with all the good accessories—including, thankfully, some great protective gear.  He was one happy camper. Not only did we recognize this was God working through circumstances to give him a special blessing, but Taylor also recognized God’s hand of blessing in his life. It was special to hear him pray thanking God for his skateboard and the man.

So, what about fleas? Well, without the fleas we wouldn’t have called Terminix and without Terminix we wouldn’t have had the semi-pro board dude and without the semi-pro board dude there wouldn’t have been a free, cool board for Taylor’s birthday.  How about that. If you wait and follow the trail so often it goes back to a Dearest Daddy who is always working for our good and His glory. So, once again, thank you God for your incredible favor and thank you once again for proving that “You got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, Family, fear, life, Scripture, travel

Warning Signs!

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” Proverbs 14:12

It said the area was closed…but closed to who? When we travelled up to Northern Indiana, it was so refreshing to go somewhere…fresh. We have travelled to a lot of places and some of them in other parts of the world. Well, given the fact the airlines were struggling in those days with delayed and cancelled flights, we decided that wherever we went we would drive. We looked for a place within a day’s drive and discovered the Indiana Dunes National Park. It is located on the shores of the south end of Lake Michigan and is known for massive sand dunes and for the great hiking trails there. Well, we were in.

When we arrived, we realized we had indeed stepped into something good. We loved the area and because it was post Labor Day, the crowds had just about all gone home. Let the adventure begin. After settling in and checking out the welcome center we decided to go see one of the must sees—Mount Baldy. Mt. Baldy is an active dune…which means it is still moving and growing almost every day. The climb to the top was to be challenging and yet rewarding with a beautiful view of the lake at the top. As we were driving to the trailhead, we read that a ranger had to accompany you on the trail to the top. Best we could tell this day or any day we were going to be there, rangers were not available. Hmmm.

My man logic kicked in and I soon surmised that the ranger was only there to protect some rare beetle or fly and that real men didn’t need rangers anyway. We took the trail that led to the lake and that later branched off if you were going to the top. When we got to the point where the trail divided, there was a rope across it and several warning signs about needing a ranger and that the dunes were in fact dangerous. I’m sure there was a sign about protecting the dunes too. Well, I was just about to go around the rope and I heard a still, small voice. At first, I thought I was having an Elijah experience and God was whispering but I soon realized it was my wife Judy telling me it was a bad idea. For once I actually listened to the still small voice.

We continued down the main trail which led to the beach and were rewarded with a magnificent view of Lake Michigan. The water was a rich blue and the small waves gently crashed ashore. Had the sand been a little whiter you would think you were in Panama City Beach. We lingered a while, enjoying the view, and then headed back to the car. Judy, ever the information gatherer, decided to see what all the fuss was about with the “ranger” thing. Turns out there was more to the story than we knew.

Not too long before we were there, a family was hiking the dune when suddenly their small son just disappeared. At first, they thought he was playing around and hiding but they soon realized this was no game. They heard a faint cry and then found a small opening in the sand. The young boy had fallen into an open chamber in the dune and was twelve feet underground. While he was still able to speak, things looked pretty dire. They ended up bringing in some heavy-duty equipment and hours later were able to rescue him.

The story had a happy ending. Despite sand in his lungs, the young boy did make a full recovery and an unknown danger became known in the process. From that day forward, any trips to the top of the dune required a ranger’s escort. You see, the rangers know the dunes and can better spot dangerous areas. Suddenly, those warning signs that I almost ignored made plenty of sense. They weren’t about rare flies or beetles; they were about protecting…me.

Something I knew was reenforced that day near Mt. Baldy. I know my life is filled with warning signs…on the roads, on medications I take, near my electrical breaker box at home and in my car. The problem is I too often want to ignore them. After all they are meant for someone else…right? And then there is the Bible. God kindly fills His Book with warning signs trying to tell us to watch out for this or that—not for my discomfort, not to make my life miserable but rather for my good, my protection.

The old, old television show was called, “Father Knows Best” and I am certain my Dearest Daddy always knows best. Perhaps we should listen…perhaps we should read His book. There’s an interesting verse there that says the ways of men (notice it does say men because we usually are the warning ignorers) may seem right but often they end in death. Bummer. So perhaps we should take heed and pay attention to the warning signs around us…especially the ones in the Bible. Trust me, He does know best, and gratefully, He will be there when we need a little rescue—He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, life, priorities, Scripture, thankful, travel

Rocks and Fossils

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to His good purpose.” Philippines 2:13

They were everywhere but nowhere to be found.  A couple of years ago, my wife Judy and I went to a pastor’s conference over in North Carolina.  It’s just a little far to travel in one day, so we always choose to stay a night on the road and one of our favorite spots is Cookeville, Tennessee.  It is a little over an hour outside Nashville and has several good places to eat and stay.  We usually stay at an Airbnb since it provides a little more space and sometimes it offers a little bit more.  

This find was Judy’s and that probably explains why we spent more than we normally do.  The place was located on a small scenic river and featured two waterfalls within a hundred yards of the property.  One was bigger and one was smaller—both were awesome. The smaller one had several rock features but only fell about ten feet.  Its big brother, on the other hand, fell about fifty feet and was massive.  It’s funny because they both had the same amount of water to work with but, you know, the farther the water falls the more impressive it seems.

Because of the falls and because the area around the river was rocky, the ground was covered with tons (both literally and figuratively) of small rocks.  There were all shapes, many colors, and sizes.  Most were fist-size or smaller but here is the best part.  Scattered around and in all the rocks were a heavy sprinkling of fossils.  Most were of ancient water plants that had become trapped in the sediment and slowly, over time, became fossilized.  There were all kinds, and since they were so unique—I just had to have some.  So, Judy and I went hunting.

From the get-go, it seemed she was better at it than me and soon she was shouting, “Here’s one, here’s another.” Well, that caused me to look harder than ever.  Well, before long, we both had plenty, and they are now on display in my office at home.  But here’s what is amazing and what prompted this short story with a big truth.  The fact is they were everywhere but there were so many rocks to poke through it was just hard to find them.  They were there but they were well camouflaged…looking a lot like their rock brothers and sisters.  Making it even harder was the fact that one side of a rock might have a cool fossil and the other—nothing.  The only choice was to keep looking and keep turning over as many stones as possible.

Isn’t that just like life? We look for this or that and sometimes we become frustrated and give up and behold—it was right in front of our face the entire time.  That is never truer than with God things.  We think God has turned off the blessing faucet when the truth is we just aren’t looking close enough…hard enough…and we give up.  Well, let me encourage you to keep flipping those rocks over because you never know what might be on the other side.

Sometimes the answer to our prayer or our miracle is just one stone flip away. God loves to bless His children so don’t give up and don’t be surprised if you find yourself staring a blessing in the face. Paul wrote, “For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to His good purpose.” In other words, don’t give up…He’s working, and He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, friends, life, loving others, prayer, Scripture, spiritual battles, Trials

His World–Their World!

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love.” 1 John 4:16

It’s like traveling around the world. I never cease to be amazed at the world that God has created for us. My wife Judy and I love to travel, and I have found a way to kinda, sorta travel while sitting right in my living room chair.  It all happens courtesy of YouTube. I’m not sure why or how but one day, I stumbled upon a video of sorts that would take a part of the world and set pictures of it to relaxing music.  It may be England or Africa or Germany or maybe Utah.  Regardless, it is amazing and marvelous. I truly enjoy it and perhaps you should try it.  And then…it got better.

So, while I was trying to pick a place to visit, I found a feature that showed live webcams from all over the world.  Every few seconds, a different live video of a different part of the world would appear along with the current weather for that location.  Ok…this is way cool.  Imagine all these different places, all being shown live.  People are walking, visiting, or perhaps sleeping.  Cars are driving up and down the streets and trucks are making deliveries. It might be raining or snowing, warm or cold, sunny, or cloudy.  It is a world tour of the…world.

Recently, I was watching, and a video showed up showing early morning Philadelphia.  The sky was blue, and it was a beautiful spring morning.  God was showing off.  And then, just like that, I found myself looking at a place high in the Austrian Alps and even though it was mid-May it was snowing to beat the band.  For all intents and purposes, it was still midwinter. And it was just about then that it hit me.

All those videos were just like snapshots of our lives…each one different and each one unique.  As we look around some folks’ lives are like a beautiful spring morning—things couldn’t be better.  Look over there and there is someone enduring the beating rain of a severe storm and finally, glance over there and someone is locked in the midst of winter.  We sometimes forget that our lives, our experience may not be the experience of the person standing next to us.  While our lives are neat and orderly, theirs might be filled with gale force winds and pounding hail.  For us things couldn’t be better—for them things couldn’t be worse.

Can I encourage us to remember that?  Can I encourage us to be sensitive to the fact that our world may not be someone else’s?  Can I encourage us to be more understanding when someone seems to be rude and huffy when perhaps, just perhaps, they are doing everything they can just to stay afloat.  Jesus was so good at this.  He could read someone and respond and it wasn’t just because He was God in the flesh but also because He was determined to love others.  We can, and should, do the same thing.

So, if you do the computer thing, check out YouTube and search for relaxing music or videos and enjoy and as you are, remember that those places are places where people are living and maybe struggling.  Then, determine to be like Jesus, who managed to love each person no matter what. A song says that Jesus loves the little children, all the little children, and if He does…we should too. 1 John 4:16 says, “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love.” We have come to know and believe that no matter what…He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne 

Posted in communication, life, prayer, priorities, Scripture, thankful, travel

Global Pass

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

Welcome to your Global Pass. To people who know us best know that we are traveling more these days. A missionary friend of our shared, “There are days of go, go; days of slow go; and days of no go.” She advised us to go before health and circumstances made traveling (something we really enjoy) either very difficult or even impossible. So, we are “go-going” while we have time. It was something that was pretty limited because of my responsibilities as a pastor but now–well, Katie bar the door.

We recently went on a cruise in the Caribbean. It wasn’t long, only five days, but it was a great adventure. After a day at sea, we parked the boat in Cozumel (which is in Mexico). Cell phone service is not not possible on the boat (without selling your first born) but when we got to port my phone told me that Mexico was included in my calling plan. It didn’t work too well but it was certainly better than nothing. So, I checked a few emails and called it a day.

That evening we left Cozumel and sailed through the night and all the next day and then through the night again. We woke up to find ourselves in the Bahamas and trust me it was beautiful. I looked at my phone and found a message welcoming me to my “Global Pass.” That meant that even thought this wasn’t included in my plan I had a special provision that allowed my to use my phone in that country. Again, I checked email and maybe even made a call or two. It was all made possible by my Global Pass. But the deal was–No pass–No Talking or Texting.

While I really didn’t need to call or text it was a great convenience. It was good to know that if I really had needed my phone and the service it provided–it was there. Did you know that God has a Global Pass too? Well, He surely does. It is always on line, always there and never fails. His Global Pass goes by another name–prayer! And unlike most times today, you never get an answering service or machine–you will find He is always there to personally take your call. And the best part is that it is available to every one of His kids. No one gets a higher priority than the other. Amazing!

So, while not give God’s Global Pass a try. He is just waiting to chat with you whether it is a ginormous emergency or just a time to talk. That’s just the kind of God He is. He is just waiting to answer and listen and let you know, without fail, He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in friends, life, loving others, Scripture, thankful, travel

Chief Wounded Cheek

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

“For all have sinned.” Romans 3:23a

Turns out this falling thing isn’t new.  If you are a regular reader of Grits, you might remember that about once a year I decide to see if my body will still bounce. A couple of years ago it was Indian Point Trail.  I tripped over a root and before you could say, “shoot that thang”  I was stretched out flat on my face.  It was painful.  Then a year later I hung my toe on the edge of my patio and did it all over again.  And yes, I fell hard and yes, it hurt.  In fact, my hand still be bears the scars from that one. And then, last summer, in the mother of all falls, a mule named Daisy and I parted company. Ouch.

So, the other day, I was thinking (I sometimes do that) and remembered another time and another fall and this one garnered me a new name.  When I pastored another church in another town, we had a great guy named Bob who would take a bunch of us to the Smoky Mountains and hike to the top of Mount Le Conte. We did this for several years and I am pretty sure I made the trip each time.  We would leave early and get to the mountains around mid-afternoon.

Bob was a pro at this hiking stuff, and he knew the importance of warming up.  So that afternoon, the day before the big hike, we would take a warmup hike.  I remember one time the warmup hike was the Chimneys and if you have ever done that one you know it isn’t that long but it is a killer.  As I remember, the warmups made the real deal almost anti-climactic.  And then, there was another time that I remember…well.

So, we got to the mountains and prepared for the warmup.  This one, as I remember, wasn’t straight up…in fact it was kinda level but it did involve crossing a couple of boulder strewn creeks.  And crossing one of those creeks gave me a new name.  As we crossed, we carefully picked our way over and around the rocks…leaning on our hiking sticks and trying to stay dry.  We did pretty good…I did pretty good…until I didn’t. Yup…you guessed it…down I went.

Gratefully, back then I bounced even better than I do now.  That time I didn’t fall flat on my face, I didn’t fall on my side, I fell on my, uh, well, my bottom.  It all happened in a split second, and I am sure if my pants hadn’t been double stitched, I would have split something else.  Well, once everyone determined that I wasn’t mortally wounded, the laughter started.  The sight of their fearless pastor laying, sitting catawampus—half in and half out the water—was too much to contain.

And then someone, who knows who, said it.  “It” was my new name.  They said, “Look there is “Chief Wounded Cheek.”  Well, then everyone, and I mean everyone, started laughing again.  Well, they helped me out and up and we continued our warmup hike but for the rest of the trip and several months later, I was “Chief Wounded Cheek.” Even to this day the memories make me smile because we had shared life together and laughed together.

There is one more thing that I so appreciated about that special group of friends, and friends like them through the years—they allowed me to be human.  You see sometimes people like to put leaders on some sort of pedestal.  The problem is that is a place they should never be because if and when they fall, well, sometimes it is unrecoverable. One of the best things you can do for a leader is love them, respect them, but allow them to be human.  And what is true of leaders and pastors is true of husbands, wives, and yes, parents. Remember, we all walk on clay feet.

Well, I’m glad to report that Chief Wounded Cheek is still bouncing along and gratefully most of the time, most of the people allow me to be human. Paul, the guy who wrote a large portion of the New Testament, reminded us that everyone of us are sinners—you know, broken people.  At one time or another, we have all messed up. The good news is that failure doesn’t have to be final.  The other good news is if we are wise, we will learn when we fail.  Someone said, “If you aren’t failing, you aren’t learning.” I like that. Oh, and the final good news is that when we fail, there is someone standing by who says, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in food, friends, life, missions, Scripture, travel

It Was Hard!

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.”  Romans 8:18

And then I remembered…it was hard.  I was looking for a picture to use in one of my Grit’s stories and that caused me to go back…to reminisce…to remember.  It was 2007 and I was part of a vision trip to Niger, West Africa to check out the possibilities of our church ministering in that West African country.  It involved an incredibly long flight which included a 12-hour layover in Casablanca, Morocco.  This was new territory for all four team members and trust me it was an adventure.  Perhaps my favorite, and most eye-opening part, was when I asked a coffee shop owner if he took dollars.  His only response was a shrug of the shoulders that seemed to say, “What is a dollar?”  Apparently, I had found a place that didn’t think America was the center of the universe.

Later that day, we continued our journey to Niger and arrived near midnight and I was sure we had somehow been diverted and landed on the moon.  The landscape, the sounds, the sights, the smells and the culture were so different…and that was just the beginning. Though I had spent three years in Europe and made a journey to the Eastern European country of Bulgaria, nothing prepared me for this.  Even though we were in the capital city of Niamey there was still extreme poverty and many dirt roads.  Amazing.  But that was nothing compared to “the bush.”

We were more than just on the edge of the vast, almost endless Sahara desert where the scrub bushes and sand seemed to go on forever.  With the exception of our own faces, everyone there bore the signs of desert life.  Faces were weathered and worn by the desert winds and feet were toughened by the grinding of the sand.  And yet, the people were amazingly content.  Things such as family and friendship seemed to matter more than anything western culture provided.  It was eye opening.

We were in the bush for several days and every day was an adventure and every day we learned more and more about this harsh, yet beautiful place at the edge of the Sahara with all its challenges and opportunities.  We slept out in the desert air, we took bucket baths because there was no running water, we lived by flashlights because there was no electricity, and we ate new and strange foods…very strange.  I learned that millet was not on my favorite food list and I also learned that this southern boy could, with difficulty, go without bread.

Well, we more than survived and would return a half dozen times or so to this different part of the world before the political climate closed that door and we had to move on to another part of West Africa. That was another adventure and another story. But as I looked at those pictures and went back…reminisced…remembered, I realized, at least for me, that was a difficult trip.  For one who was used to so many creature comforts, it was hard. I also looked at some pictures from another trip to the bush a couple of years later and looked into the eyes of weary westerners—tired from a long day’s ministry, loving and helping people and remembered…it was hard.

But here’s the deal.  It was worth it…in fact, it was more than worth it.  Those trips, those days, were some of the most memorable days we have spent on the African continent. During those days I made friendships with people and learned from them.  They left their fingerprints on my life and heart and I am different today.  I hope that I too left good fingerprints on their lives—good impressions of Someone much greater than me.  We told Bible stories during those days and for many that was something new—something they had never heard, Someone, they had never known.  I still remember how some were bewildered and some intrigued.  Yes, it was worth all the hard and only eternity will tell the final impact.

Worth.The.Hard.  That is not only true for trips to West Africa or other difficult places, it is true of life.  You see, everyone’s journey is different, and everyone’s journey will include easy and it will include hard—and both are beneficial.  The easy refreshes us like a desert oasis and the hard teaches us like a strenuous workout at the gym.  If and when, we learn we need both, life takes on a different and better meaning.  We stop holding on only to the easy and learn to embrace the hard and we are better.

Paul, a guy in the Bible who knew a lot about easy and hard said, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.”  Paul learned to appreciate both sides of the coin—the refreshment of easier days and the challenge of difficult ones.  How about you?  Can you imagine a better outcome when the harshness of life brings profit instead of loss?  I know it is a challenge and a lesson that I am still learning.  But there is one lesson that is at the top of my to-do list—to remember and believe, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne