Tag: winning

Posted in Family, fear, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, Military memories, Scripture, thankful, Trials, wisdom

Me and Major Hobbs

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

I knew the outcome…I thought.  The list of the things I enjoyed while serving in the Air Force is long and varied.  Somehow, which I’m sure God arranged, I was assigned to work in the command section at all my duty assignments.  It all started when a guy named Master Sergeant Johnson picked me up at the small airport in Minot, North Dakota and casually said, “I think I’m going to let you work for me.”  He worked in the command section of the Combat Support Group and so it began.  Each new duty assignment found me working for the commanders and first sergeants of each unit.  It was awesome. So many of those leaders left their fingerprints on my life and help mold me in the person I am today.

1973 found me assigned to the command section of one of aircraft maintenance squadrons at Moody Air Force Base. My immediate supervisor, the first sergeant and even the commander became friends of sorts—within the parameters of military protocol.  All that leads to the point of this story.  After joining the service, I learned to play racquetball and loved it.  I suppose I was even pretty good at it.  Well, my commander, Major Hobbs, also played.  Normally, our path probably wouldn’t have crossed at the gym, but this young buck airman kept egging this 20 year my senior, slightly overweight, Major… to play him in racquetball.  I assured him that I could take him and then one day, he said, “Ok.”

He told me to get a court time and I did.  Now everything assured me that this was going to be a no match…and it was…but not like I thought.  On the appointed day and at the appointed time we met to do battle.  I was sure I was going to show my commander what a real racquetball player looked like.  I served first and I may have made a couple of points.  Then, it was his turn, and that is when I began to learn that the race doesn’t always go the swiftest…or the youngest.  Major Hobbs would serve and then move to the center of the court and proceeded to beat me like an unwanted tom cat.  He virtually didn’t move because he didn’t need to.  He totally mastered the ball with his racket and put the ball, almost every time, wherever I wasn’t

Well, a set (win) in racquetball, is three games…if needed.  We didn’t need them.  He finished me off in two games.  One player left the court drenched in sweat and exhausted and one left the court without a drop.  One player left the court dragging and exhausted while the other left with a strange bounce in their step.  You can probably guess which was which.  The young buck airman was taught a good lesson that day and it is one that I still remember today. It is not always about how light on your feet and how fast you can move.  Sometimes it is about strategy…how you play the game.

And so, it is with life. A wise man, woman or child will know that you need to have a plan, a strategy if you will, if you are going to win the game of life.  And the crazy part is the best strategy doesn’t depend on talent, wealth, or opportunity.  It leans, it is driven by – a close relationship with Creator God. Now don’t miss that.  Religion is nice, church is a great idea, but neither are the answer—a personal relationship with God through faith in His Son and the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit is. It is a power team of three and yet One.  Amazing. With Him calling the shots, well, life just goes better…a lot better. Jesus invites us to come and do life with Him…and that is an invitation we need to accept.

That day, we left the court differently but there was one thing we shared…a smile.  The older, wiser Major smiled because he had helped a prideful, young airman learn a lesson in humility.  A lesson, honestly, he needed. And the airman, well, he smiled too because someone wiser than him took the time to teach.  God really does want to help us do life and honestly, we need Him. Don’t be pushed away by all the hype in religion.  Go ahead and schedule some court time with God and you just might discover how much He loves you and wants to help.  You might discover that no matter what…He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, friends, life, priorities, Scripture, thankful, Trials

And the Winner Is

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.” 1 Corinthians 9:26

It was a whale of a deal—I think.  Three or four months ago my wife Judy and I were at HomeGoods.  She was shopping and I was sitting.  HomeGoods is a great store if you are looking for things for your house.  After checking my email and winning several hands of Solitaire, I decided to at least look around.  If you know anything about me you know there is a word that draws me like iron to a magnet, like a moth drawn to the flame, like water seeks lower ground—well, you get the idea.  And what is that word? CLEARANCE.

Different stores use different colors of signs announcing their clearance but I can spot any of them a mile away.  That particular night it was in a pretty obvious place, so I decided to check out the clearance aisle.  Now I need to be candid and let you know I see clearance stuff like I see Dairy Queen.  You see there is nothing I need at Dairy Queen, but DQ isn’t about needing it is about wanting.  I want ice cream…I don’t need ice cream.  Yes, I know it feels like a need, but it isn’t. Ice cream isn’t like air…we can live without it…I think. Anyway, when it comes to the clearance aisle it isn’t about needing it—it is about being a good deal.  Who can pass up something that is like 90% off?  Well, apparently, I can’t.

I wandered back to the clearance aisle and started poking around.  Nothing really caught my eye until right before I was about to walk away.  There was a flat box about fifteen inches square and it looked intriguing. Something was stacked on top of it which is probably why it was still there.  On the cover it showed a round circle with about 25 red balls sitting in small indentions.  It was beautiful…I think.  It was imported from Italy and made of beautiful, and I am not exaggerating, alabaster. It felt expensive, it looked expensive, and the original price was rather pricey.  It was marked $39.99.  Nice.

So, I looked around on the box and found the clearance price.  It was…get ready…three dollars and ninety-nine cents.  “What?” I said.  “Can it be?”  I said.  “Ninety percent off?” I said.  I mean I was amazed.  I couldn’t wait to show it to Judy.  I covered it back up and went to find her.  She was already in line, but I pulled her out to show her my prize.  When we got to the aisle, I showed it to her.  She was impressed and then she popped the question, “What is it?”  I told her I wasn’t sure, but I thought it was some sort of game.  There were no rules and no indications that’s what it was but hey, it was $3.99. We bought it.

We proudly set it up first on a table and then in our bay window.  I checked the internet but couldn’t find any information on the item.  I did find the company and they were sellers of fine alabaster but our treasure remained a mystery.  Enter the grandkids.  Judy made the mistake of showing this treasure to Will, one of our grandsons. She explained it was sorta like checkers (really?) and you would jump the balls like you do in checkers.  However, since the “board” was round there were logistical problems.  So, they started to “play” and then he popped the question.  He asked, “How do you win?”  And Judy said, “I don’t know.”

I thought that was great because so often in life we play the game and have no idea how to win.  And, truth be known, it affects all kinds of areas in our life.  How do you win in your career? How do you win in your marriage? How do you win in choosing your potential mate? How do you win with church? With Jesus?  You see, without knowing how to win you are sure to either get bored or get lost.  As much as I believe there is joy in the journey, I also know that there has to be goal, a measuring stick, a finish line.  Success needs to be measured.  If it isn’t you might find yourself stuck in a rut and as someone said, “a rut is a grave with the ends knocked out.”  So, what are we to do?

It seems to me that we should approach life with a goal—what do I want to see happen today?  Regardless of the arena, try and define what would be a win for that day.  And the best part?  You can start stringing those days together and before long you have a life of wins.  Now when you are defining a win, I believe you should set the definition in line with an authority, and I can think of no better authority than the Word of God. Even if you aren’t a God-follower you will find that the Bible is a Book worth reading, knowing, and following.  Go ahead and give it a read.  And if you are a God-follower, well, you probably already knew that—we just need to do it.

Paul, one of the writers of a chunk of the New Testament said that we should run with a purpose and not be like a shadow boxer.  We shouldn’t run like Forest Gump, aimlessly, but rather like Jesse Owens.  We should box like a man in the ring making every punch count.  Run with a purpose, fight like it matters…because it does.  Anyway, Judy and I are going to keep the game even though we don’t know how to play or win.  But tomorrow, I think I’ll wakeup and have a chat with my Dearest Daddy, my Trainer, my Coach and get His opinion on how to win in life. After all, He never loses, and He’s always got this.  Bro. Dewayne