FALSE ADVERTISING

The wife and I planned a day trip to Taylors Falls , MN. While making plans we talked to some friends who had just been there. These friends also informed us there are no falls at Taylors Falls. Secretly I thought our friends were crazy…no falls at Taylor Falls?!…ya right! In fact, my wife and I felt confident there were falls at Taylors Falls. In fact, the reason we felt so confident is that we thought we remembered being there and seeing falls.

We started the day with a long leisurely drive following the banks of the St. Croix river. When we arrived at Taylors Falls, it felt like I walked ridiculously fast to the river. Expecting to see the falls around the next bend, I readied my camera to prove our friends wrong…or maybe the next bend, or the next bend, or maybe not. Eventually we found a park ranger and asked where the falls were. With an awkward smile she said, “there are no falls”. “No falls at Taylors falls?” I asked. The ranger explained how the power company installed a dam on the river over a hundred years ago and now there’s only rapids.

Taylors Rapids...aka Taylors Falls

Despite the disappearance of the majestic falls we thought existed, we thoroughly enjoyed the day.  It got me thinking, what if we sold ourselves as what we used to be instead of what we currently are? Picture yourself back in high school. I’ll use myself as an example - there were many different groups or cliques people were in, and I was in the rocker/burn-out crowd. I had long hair, wore all black attire, smoked, drank, and poked fun at everything different than me. I’m not ashamed of my past, but thankfully by the grace of God and a loving woman by my side, I matured a great deal. However, if people came looking for the old me, they’d be surprised - hopefully pleasantly surprised and not disappointed they didn’t find the person who existed long ago.   

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God.