Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Do not fret because of those who are evil
    or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither,
    like green plants they will soon die away.
Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.

• Psalm 37:1-6

The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy.

• 1 Kings 4:20

How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!

• 2 Chronicles 9:7

Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage against Mordecai.

• Esther 5:9

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

• Luke 12:16-21

Boilerplate

I’m Harold Dykstra.  I’m retired, but I go to food bank distributions all over Tracy and talk to people that need someone who will listen to their story.  My time is well spent.  A police lieutenant suggested that I write down the conversations that I had with an angel.  I did not know she was an angel at the time.  The angel, for a little over a year, indwelled a life-sized posable action figure my children bought me, so that I would not be perceived as travelling alone.  And in a way, she was training me for what I do while talking to the needy.  She probed my heart to find out what I believed and how I express love for others.  She changed my life.  Since she was a doll that had come to life, we came up with the term ‘other living.’  She was not a human, an animal, or even a plant, but she was definitely living, and very vibrant.  Oh, excuse me, angels have no gender, but the angel indwelled a doll named Bountiful Babs.  After seeing the angel in that form for over a year, I cannot see her in my mind in any other form.

This Week’s Question

In the last episode, Babs learned about gambling and the reason why casting lots is not mentioned after Matthias was selected as an apostle.

As I mentioned, my sales calls were not going to be until Tuesday, which was tomorrow when this happened.  As we were driving through the Oregon countryside, taking the scenic route, Babs saw a sign that said something about the contented goats and happy vegetables farm.

Babs squeaked, “Oh, I have never seen happy vegetables before, Harold.  Let’s stop.”

I tried to stifle a laugh, but I agreed.  After all, I had been to Oregon before, but I had never seen any happy vegetables either.

Babs had a non-conversation with the girl helping in the produce area, wearing a tie-dyed blouse and a beaded skirt that drug the ground.  I think she doubled as the produce girl and floor sweeper.

The reason why the conversation was a non-conversation was that Babs had not been ‘other living’ for very long, and the produce girl was, ummm, in a way, absent.  The girl told Babs that the reason why the farm had happy vegetables was what grew along side the vegetables.  But Babs, being innocent, never picked up on the girl’s hints.  Once or twice a worker in a similar tie-dye shirt and bell bottom pants asked if the produce girl needed help, and she said that she had never seen anyone as green as Babs.

Babs reply was that the cucumbers and green beans were very green.

To be polite, we bought some carrots that I was going to thoroughly wash before we munched on them.  I did not wish to get the munchies.

On the way to our hotel, Babs asked, “Why did they advertise happy vegetables?  Those vegetables were as normal as all the vegetables I have ever seen.”

I replied, “It was tongue-in-cheek humor, Babs.  They were advertising that the proprietors had been or still were Hippies.”  I explained the entire counterculture war that went on about the time I was born, at least from my perspective.  “So, these Hippies found that the people in the Great Northwest, especially Oregon, were friendly toward their counterculture lifestyle.  If they did not cause trouble, they could stay.  So, the one’s that remained Hippies were the ones that made their invented lifestyle work.”

Babs asked, “But, forgetting the vegetables being happy for a second, did this Hippie lifestyle work?”

I smiled, “To some, it fizzled quickly.  It seems that this farm has continued to make a living.  These youngsters may be the grandchildren of the original Hippies.  They were definitely as high as kites.”

Babs said, “The girls dress dragged the ground, Harold.  Kites, when the kite acts like a kite, are way up in the air.”

I snickered, “They had probably been smoking some of that plant that the girl claimed made the vegetables happy.  Marijuana, or something similar.”

Babs simply said, “Oh!”

After a moment of silence, “But what happens when the artificial ‘happy’ runs out, Harold?”

“Well, let’s see what the Bible says.” I replied.  “First Kings 4 says that the people of Israel were happy.  Why?”

Babs said, “Solomon was king.  There was peace.  And Solomon was getting provisions to build the temple, even though those provisions had started to come in with King David.”

“Right!” I replied, “But then, why did the Queen of Sheba think the people of Israel were happy in 2 Chronicles 9?”

Babs scrunched her nose.  “They still had all the other stuff, but now they knew that Solomon was very wise and the temple had been built.”

“Right, again.”  I then asked, “Note how Haman’s demeanor changed simply by seeing Mordecai in Esther 5:9, the man he hated.  He went from happy to angry in a second.  So, what happens to happiness that is based on circumstances?”

Babs said, “1. 2. 3.”  We sang, “I don’t know.”  But then I added, “Think about it Babs.”

Babs again scrunched her nose.  “They would not be so happy?”

I chuckled, “That sounded like a question, but if that was your answer, you would be right.  Now, let’s go back to that Scripture in 1 Kings 4.  They ate; they drank, and they were happy.  Now where else have you seen that sequence in the Bible, maybe with ‘merry’ instead of ‘happy’?”

Babs shrugged, “All I can think of is the parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12.”

I sighed, “And look what happened.  He was making great plans.  In the meantime, there was eating, drinking, and merriment, but he made no provision for God in his life.  But also remember where the source to everlasting Joy comes from.”

Babs giggled, “That’s easy!  That’s Jesus.”

I smiled, as I pulled into the hotel parking lot.  “You have that right, and we have confidence that everything that falls this way or that way here on earth works to the good of those that love the Lord and live according to His purposes.  Whether the circumstances are good or bad at the moment.  God’s promises give us Joy in every situation.”

Babs giggled, “Yes, I have the Joy of the Lord.  But I am happy too.  I get to be with you, and you are a good teacher, Harold.”

“For us, Babs,” I said, “We need to look toward passages in the Bible like Psalm 37.  The things that look happy and green here on this earth will fade away, but if we trust in God, He will give us the desires of our hearts.  And right now, after we get checked in, I know a great seafood place in this town.  My heart desires sustenance, at least at the moment.”

Credits

All these conversations remind me of my conversations with my wife.  We would talk about anything and everything.  And most of the time, it sounded like a discussion in a Sunday school class.

My last trip to Oregon, to a steel mill south of Portland, I went with another engineer at the company who taught some of the hour-long lectures, allowing me to take a break from teaching.  The mill had a strange shift change schedule and we had a “weekend” in the middle of the week.  One day we went inland to see a few waterfalls and the Maryhill Museum.  The other day, we drove down the Oregon coast and as we turned to go inland, my friend asked what a contented vegetable farm was.  He said the sign mentioned “contented” and “happy.”  I asked him if he saw any tie-dyed T-shirts.  He said there were flowers all over the sign.  Now, near the turn-off to the farm, we saw an ancient VW van parked next to the road, complete with flowers painted all over it.  My friend who helped me teach the class was much younger.  Too young to remember those times, but he had seen pictures.  He doubled over laughing.  He said that they could not have made it any more obvious.

Within the next fifty miles, we saw a half dozen VW vans with flowers painted on them.  How many more can still be around?!

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.