Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

• Philippians 4:19

For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.

• Nehemiah 9:21

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

• Psalm 23:1

Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing.

• Psalm 34:9

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 had slowed down.  She was less interested in doing things and seeing things, and more interested in simply being with me.  I liked that idea, but something had changed.

After a couple of sales calls in northern Ohio, we found ourselves in a quiet hotel off the Ohio Turnpike.  When I got back to the hotel, the lady at the front desk said that I needed to drive down to the restaurant and craft store about a mile south of the hotel.  I would find Babs there.

When I arrived, an Amish lady said that I must be Harold Dykstra, a good Dutch name.  I was confused.  Partly because she used an older form of English, and some of her words were German.  She proffered an elbow and guided me back to a table in the kitchen, not in the dining area of the restaurant at all.

Babs smiled when I entered, “It sure took you a long time.”

I shrugged, “I had a very big sale.  We had to fax signed documents back and forth a little.  Last year, you had the president show up to cut out all the faxing.  So, it took longer, but I got a great sale today.  Is this the way we are to celebrate?”

Babs scrunched her nose, “It is an understated celebration.  In fact, we might not celebrate at all.  I met these wonderful people here.  We have been having conversations about life in this community all day.  I find it fascinating.”  She introduced me to several of the people in the kitchen, and then they came over with food for us to eat.  We may not have ‘celebrated,’ but we ate our fill and then some.  I bought a quilt for her bed when we get back at Christmas.  We bought homemade jams, bread, and cheese.  With a trip to a grocery store for a knife, we had snacks for the rest of the sales trip.

Babs hesitated.  She wanted to take a buggy ride back to the hotel, but then she told them that she had promised that she would spend every moment possible with me on this trip.  So, we put our purchases in the trunk of the car, and we drove back to the hotel together.

In the room, with her lounging in the easy chair and me sitting in the office chair with my Bible on the bedside table that we moved between us.

Babs asked, “What does the Bible tell us about how God provides our needs?”

I shrugged, “Philippians 4:19 uses those words, but what is used more often is that they “lacked nothing.”

I continued, “In Nehemiah 9, Ezra is teaching the people about how they got where they were, a remnant of a great nation, slaves to a more powerful nation, and barely hanging on to their existence.  He taught them about what God had done and the stiff-necked ancestors who did not believe and trust God.  And when Ezra mentioned the wandering of the Israelites in the wilderness for forty years, he said they lacked nothing.  For forty years their clothing did not wear out.  For forty years, they had manna to eat and water.  For forty years of walking around in the wilderness, they never got swollen feet.”

Babs smiled, “That is amazing.  But I have watched you, your company, and your children, and you are all busy to make a dollar here or there.  These Amish people help each other.  They do not have the same temptations that you have.  They trust in God providing their needs.”

I shrugged, “I paid them more for that quilt than I would have paid for something similar back in Tracy.  The quality is excellent, but since it is handmade, they charge a good penny for it.  I bought it because each quilt square is embroidered with a depiction of Bible stories with quilting patterns to separate each embroidered square.  It is perfect for you, Babs.  But many Amish have cellphones and the internet.  They do not have obvious modern amenities, but how did they get the few that they have?  They were tempted and the internet and cellphones are the way people communicate to get work these days.  Yes, their lives are simpler and some stick to the orthodox views, but then, is the isolation from modern life the best path?  How do we spread the Gospel if we isolate ourselves from the world in order to avoid an obvious temptation while there are still temptations, one being self-righteousness for not wearing a short skirt or a plunging neckline.  I see you wore just about the only thing in your limited wardrobe that was suitable in their world.”

Babs nodded, “Yes, I talked to the lady at the front desk.  I just wanted to see what local crafts were in this area and she went on and on about the Amish market where we spent our dinner time.  Then she told me that I would offend them if I wore what I had been wearing, and it would be a feather in my bonnet, as she described it, if I walked rather than drive a car to the market.  They are very nice people.”

I smiled, “Yes, Babs, they are.  I know people in Tracy that go to various Amish communities with a truck to get authentic Amish furniture, rather than suffer the heavy mark-up that the local furniture stores place on it.  Everyone wants to make the money, not just the Dykstras and the company I work for.  You simply have not gotten to know any more people than that.  Remember, the folks at church are acting their Sunday best.”

Babs smiled, “Yes, I know.  And of all that I have known, you are the most content with what God has provided for you.  And I think you might like working at the church’s food bank when you retire.”

I groaned, “Babs, that is hard work, and I am getting older.  And my biggest issue was that I did not get to talk to the people.  I just handed them dry goods and canned goods.  It was a feel good, but I want to touch their lives.”

Babs giggled, “Then that is it.  You just described how you can help the people who come to the food bank.  You can talk to the people after they get their food.  The food will not spoil.  If they want to talk, then you can talk to them.”

I nodded, “Okay, now you have asked about God meeting our needs and you have solved my mission once I retire, what next?”

Babs said, “But you only mentioned a couple of verses.  I am not letting you off that easy.”

I laughed, “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.”

Babs scrunched her nose, “Harold, Psalm 23 starts with ‘The Lord is my Shepherd. I lack nothing.’ ”

I shook my head, “No, Babs, I memorized that Psalm when the King James was the main Bible to turn to.  You memorized the NIV.”

Babs grumbled, “You never gave me a King James Bible.”

I snickered, “Because people don’t talk that way anymore.  I will let you read my old Bible when we get back home.”

Babs started to get tears in her eyes.  “Yes, Harold, that would be wonderful.”

I suggested, “But that statement in Psalm 23 about lacking nothing is also in Psalm 34, but it adds that those who fear the Lord lack nothing.  So, maybe some of the people that you have met do not fear the Lord, and they have a need, or maybe just a perceived need.  When you realize how powerful God is and that God loves you, why would you ever worry?  We do, but our fear of the Lord may not be that strong.  We say that God sees everything, but then we do naughty things in the shadows that might not hurt a flea, but it hurts us, and we know God saw it.  But if our fear of the Lord, our knowing how awesome God is, we might hesitate, and we might even resist the temptation.  Then, when the sun comes up the next morning, we say to ourselves that we really did not need what we were thinking about the night before.”

Babs giggled, “I still do not understand humans.  Their sin nature gets them into so much trouble.  And that means that even the Amish have temptations.  They sin also.  And we are dealt the life that we have.  We make of this life the best we can, and those that love the Lord are truly blessed.”

I nodded, “I could not have said it better.  Now, we need to shower and get to bed.  We are going back to our hotel near Youngstown, OH.  I will be commuting to various customers all week and you can visit your friends, if they are still working at the hotel.”

Babs jumped from the chair.  “I’m going to shower first.  You know that I do not take that long.”

I had to laugh.  As she brushed past me, other than a little dust, she smelled as fresh as she had smelled when I left for my sales call that morning.

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 wife and I visited Amish communities from Illinois to Pennsylvania over the past thirty years.  My wife loved going to places to find unique locally made crafts, and talking to the people was always part of it.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.