Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

• 1 Corinthians 15:50-58

“There is a favorite story I like to tell myself. It’s the one about how my life should turn out. Though it’s riddled with missing everyday details, it’s full of a general sense of okayness. No, actually more than okayness. It’s the story where my toes can dig deeply into the sands of a glorious land called normal. A land I didn’t design but one where I’m allowed to nod in agreement before any changes occur. And I can veto all circumstances that don’t look right, feel right, or smell right. My lungs inhale fresh gusts of predictability and the wind is always a gentle breeze. Never unstable or stormy and certainly not brutal or destructive.
“This place is neither glamorous nor glitzy. It’s casual and comfortable with a boho chic eclectic style and a pace all my own. Things don’t wear out and I don’t get worn down. People are kind. They do what they say they are going to do and are only grumpy enough to keep things interesting. Goodness dots the landscape like trees in bloom. Peace hovers like the best poofy clouds. And the soundtrack is simple and sweet, crescendoing with lingering laughter over all the inside jokes that a big family with so many big personalities effortlessly produces.
“I like this place.
“I don’t want to just vacation here.  I want to live here.
“And I suspect you have a version of this kind of story you like to tell yourself as well.”

• Lysa TerKeurst, It’s Not Supposed to be this Way

Lysa TerKeurst lays out a well thought idyllic world that works the way we think it should.  But notice the photo of the book cover.  I have yet to figure out if the cover art is upside down or if the printing of the book is upside down. In either case, the book cover illustrates that our dreams and reality are rarely the same.

In reading her first paragraphs of her book, I looked back at my life.  My parents lost their turkey farm, so I had to figure out what to do in life.  I was pushed toward engineering, and as for the education, I excelled.  I came away from college tops in my class, within my degree field, but I had no girlfriend.

I then met my future wife.  I could not believe that I had found the woman of my dreams who was beautiful on the outside, and gorgeous on the inside.  She was beyond nice; she had a servant’s heart, and she loved making me happy.  I first fell in love with her voice.  The entire package was something sent from heaven.

My time in graduate school and working at a petrochemical plant had a Midas touch.  Almost everything that I worked on as a “computer applications engineer” made money for the company, a lot of money.  I felt I could turn any chemical process into numbers and figure out how to make it more efficiently.  And even for four years in the military, leaving as a captain, I excelled.

But then, my first job out of the military was a house of cards.  Everything that they told me during the interview was a lie.  And suddenly, I was praying the title of this book, but the book would not be written for another thirty-seven years.

For Lysa TerKeurst, it was marital issues that caused her problems to go spiraling out of control.

When I saw the book at Hobby Lobby, I laughed in that this was the second of her books and I was getting them at the same store.  I saw it once, but then after my wife passed away, I went to the store just to roam the aisles.  Really, I was looking for casket flag frames.  I did not know there were varieties of sizes, so I had to make some measurements.  So, I roamed the aisles of the store where my wife had bought something on almost every aisle.  She loved crafts.  I have tons of her unfinished projects and supplies.  As I walked toward the exit, determined to learn what size frame I needed, I felt compelled to buy something.  I bought this book.

I had the book a few weeks before I started reading it.  I was halfway through the book until I realized the photo on the cover was upside down.  I had picked up the book, looking at the photo and all the words inside the book were upside down.  I flipped the book over a couple of times before realizing she was making a point.

My wife passing does not qualify for the things in this book.  Yes, I was robbed of a fiftieth wedding anniversary just two years shy.  On our anniversary, she said we needed to celebrate our present anniversary in style.  She did not think she would make it two more years.  But she had said things like that before.  Neither of us knew she would not live another month.  We thought of a big bash in the summer.  But while people can cheat on their taxes, and some get away with it, the other thing that is always certain is truly certain.  Everyone must die.

So, having a loved one die does not qualify for “not supposed to be this way.”  But the author’s subtitle is “finding unexpected strength when disappointments leave you shattered.”  Now that might include a death of a loved one, especially a loved one that kept you from making a mistake here or helping you recover from a mistake there.

This is just an introduction.  The author used 1 Corinthians 15:57 in her introduction, before chapter 1.  I added a few more verses for context.  For us to grasp the imperishable, we must leave the perishable behind.  Only my wife’s body died.  She is with Jesus and having a grand time of it.  For me to join her, although there is no marriage in Heaven, I must be prepared to leave everything behind.  But as long as I am here, I must glorify God through all the pieces of my shattered life.

A walk through this book will be the new Sunday mini-series.  The book resonated with me.  I started reading it and learning from the author.  I then thought that she had quotable quotes on every other page, if not more frequently.  And by the time I finished, I had put the book on my mini-series stack.  If everything is going well in your life, you need to be prepared.  If everything suddenly changed in your life for the worst, this book can lead you to the right words in the Bible.  And if nothing has worked the way you thought it should, Lysa TerKeurst points to the One who makes all the difference.

Lord, guide me. I had a rude awakening when I left the Army.  I had the smarts, the people skills, and a love to help people.  Then I was deceived.  My plan for my life was then shattered and I spent forty plus years basically in the wilderness.  And what I found was that Your Will was what mattered, and You were molding me into who I am.   Until six months ago, I was part of a duo.  I am now, on earthly terms, a single act, but I have You with me.  Is this what I planned?  No!  But it is what You intended it to be.  Thank You for never giving up on me.  In Your name I pray.  Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.