Well, it is a crisp November morning here in Northwest
Arkansas. This weekend was full of
emotion at the Taylor house. Saturday
finished with a ray of Razorback hope as my beloved Hogs managed to achieve
their first conference win in nearly two years and gained possession of the
cherished “Golden Boot”. Yesterday, we
were presented with our first snow. The
boys (specifically Grayson) sat in awe at lunch as the snow was beginning to
cover the cars and ground outside the restaurant. There wasn’t a ton on the ground in the end,
but I did see many folks posting Facebook pictures and questions like, “Should
I go out or stay inside all cozy in my fuzzy blanket with a good book and warm
drink?” By all accounts it has been a pretty
routine year leading into our Thankful Season with many people posting daily
thanks as we gain steam towards my favorite time of the year. But this past weekend and this week will be
different for me this year.
Many of you may not know my full name is actually Steven
Gregory Taylor. Most know me by Greg and
even fewer would know the reasoning behind my given name. Today I am going to focus on the first. My mother is the youngest of four children
with three older brothers. As you can
guess, one of them is named Steven “Steve” and although it rarely seems nice to
have “favorites” in a family dynamic Steve was her favorite. I think it was mostly because he stuck up for
her in family feuds, or the sense of humor they shared together, but her
firstborn was named after him.
This week will be a very tough one for me (selfishly), but
mostly my family because we lost a PILLAR of our family this weekend, my Uncle
Steve. A surgery with a 2% chance of
fatality took a very wrong turn for the worst.
To say I’m in shock would be an understatement. To say I am heartbroken would not begin to
describe the depth of how I feel. The
thousands of emotions that come along with it are like a hurricane tossing a
small boat. It is at times like this
that reflection can be your best friend or worst enemy, calling into question
many truths we rarely challenge and testing a confidence that has always seemed
so solid.
Many times in the Old Testament the Israelites would forget all
of the miraculous works of our Lord and begin to waver in their own
insecurity. Time and time again we see
God come to the rescue and save them from their weakness. Often times when God delivered his people he
would instruct them to stack stones as a memorial to remind them of his
faithfulness to the current and future generations. You see an example of this in Joshua 4 when
the Israelites wanted to cross the Jordan (at flood stage) into Jericho so they
could overtake it. Priests were asked to
take the ark into the Jordan, thus stopping the flow of the water and allowing
everyone to cross on dry ground. When
they had safely crossed, one member from each of the 12 tribes gathered a stone
and placed it where they stayed that night as a memorial to God’s faithfulness
to them.
This illustration, along with a song, was what God reminded
me of this weekend. The old hymn “My
Hope is Built on Nothing Less” echoed through my head. Specifically these first two verses:
My hope
is built on nothing less
Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On
Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
When
darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
On
Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
There are many stones I have stacked along my 40 year journey
with my Heavenly Father. To ignore them
and not anchor to them in this seemingly tough storm would be ungrateful and
foolish. There is so much he has done in
my life that should give me much confidence and courage. It can be tough to understand all this life
brings to the table, but if you find yourself in a stormy season of life,
revisit those “stone memorials” of God’s faithfulness and maybe listen to Him
whisper this familiar tune in your ear,
On Christ the solid rock I stand…
In the words of my beloved Uncle Steve, “Bye For Now”.
~Steven G Taylor