Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

• Colossians 2:6-7

If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?

• 1 Corinthians 10:30

I was in Tennessee during the Thanksgiving Holiday week.  I am very grateful for my son’s hospitality.

My son is going through some issues that have led to an excused absence for the rest of this calendar year.  Having me there was a help, a shoulder to lean on as everything he did led to more things to do.  Since he will not get paid for the rest of the year, other than one month of short-term disability at 60% of his usual pay, his last act in achieving his excused absence is to pay his medical insurance, in that they deducted that from his paycheck.  Seems insulting, but I get the school district’s point of view.  He needs that medical insurance continued especially at this time.

My son studies cooking more than his music that he teaches in school.  He also grieves differently than I do.  He had several dishes that were traditional, with a goose instead of a turkey.  But he cooked them untraditionally.  The food was all good.  The green beans were exceptional, but I missed the traditions.  After the meal, I had to find a place to be alone.  Otherwise, we all made it through a big holiday, the first after my wife passed away.

The rest of the week was spent with the family.  Our daughter-in-law worked, even Thanksgiving morning.  As discussed in another post, while teachers get the day off in inclement weather, people who are paid to play with dogs are “essential workers” since the real essential workers need a doggie day care for their dogs.  Wow! There was no such thing when I was growing up and humans and dogs both survived.

The teenager was a teenager.  When no one was looking, he and I had a strange ritual.  We would hug.  After a few seconds, I would pat his back to the rhythm of “Shave and a haircut.”  He would pat my back to the “two bits.”  That way, if anyone caught us hugging, it wouldn’t be “weird,” just weird.  And I learned to lean my head to his right shoulder.  When I went the other way, he raised his left shoulder, being much taller than I am, hit my chin, knocking my head backwards, and leading to a nerve stinger.  Have you ever had a hug that led to rubbing in lidocaine and lying down for a while?  It was my first.

The double-digit-aged granddaughter cut back on her flying leaps into a bear hug, but she insisted on morning hugs, bedtime hugs, and hugs in between.

With the nine-year-old, the hugs gravitated into a tickle fest.

In all it was a pleasant visit.  I met my sister at a state park in Mississippi on Black Friday.  I think it was the first time in a long time that she and her husband left the house, with three generations of female offspring to go to the store.  We told a lot of stories.  I heard a few I had never heard before, but then again, can I trust my memory?

So, we all had a good time, and the Lord was praised early and often.

Family is important.  Keep the communication lines open.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.