Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

“Sing, barren woman,
    you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,
    you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
    than of her who has a husband,”
says the Lord.
“Enlarge the place of your tent,
    stretch your tent curtains wide,
    do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
    strengthen your stakes.
For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
    your descendants will dispossess nations
    and settle in their desolate cities.
“Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.
    Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
    and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
For your Maker is your husband—
    the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
    he is called the God of all the earth.

• Isaiah 54:15

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

• Luke 1:5-7

Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

• Psalm 37:4

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

• Titus 2:3-5

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

• Titus 2:11-15

The Boilerplate

My wife took a Bible Study in 2011.  (There was a note in the study guide that identified September 2 and that the study was being held on Friday mornings, or I might not have ever figured out what year.)  My wife had become a Christian in 2000. She greatly respected the pastor’s wife who was also a pastor.  The pastor’s wife spent time as the interim associate pastor, and this Bible study might have been during that time.

My wife passed away in March 2023, and I found this study guide as I was cleaning up.  It is a Beth Moore study guide.  Most of the questions are close-ended, mostly fill-in-the-blank.  But my wife was eager to learn.  She wrote her thoughts in the margins, sometimes encouraged to do so by Beth Moore.  I will use her comments as I did once before, calling this a “with a little help” series in that my wife contributes.  There is more to follow in that she wrote Scriptures and prayers in a notebook.  Probably what she found in her personal Bible study, giving her encouragement through the long illness that took her life.

So, instead of writing about a topic at random, I am going to write on my wife’s comments in the Study Guide. It may follow the study guide topics, but it may not.

Discussion on this topic

How does Luke 1:5-7 provide proof that barrenness does not imply sinfulness?

“Zechariah, a priest, and his wife Elizabeth were barren.  They lived according to God and were very faithful to Him.”

• My wife’s response

The book of Job talks about a godly man, Job, who had his faith tested.  Satan did the testing.  God allowed it so that Job could show his faithfulness to God in adversity.  When you look through the Bible, we find many barren women and how God produced great men of the faith as a result.  For example, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), Samson, Samuel, and now John the Baptist (Baptizer).

If you have not noticed, the last few weeks, the lessons have been on the dreams of little girls.  My wife’s four top dreams as a girl were “man of my dreams, children, a home of her own, and wealthy.”  Beth Moore uses a slightly different set of dreams “marriage, being beautiful, being fruitful, and next week’s topic, living happily ever after.”  Other than wording, there is not a lot of difference in the two lists.  But being barren eliminates the “children” from my wife’s list and “being fruitful” from Beth Moore’s list.  And the living happily ever after for a grandparent is playing with the grandchildren, so that becomes less “happy.”

How does Psalm 37:4 support a shift in a woman’s dreams in that if we devote ourselves to God, a woman may no longer dream of marriage and children?

“Delight in the Lord and your heart’s desires will be met.  What we want the most might not be what we need.  God will see to that desire.”

• My wife’s response

My wife had wanderlust.

Have you ever desired something passionately?  Have you had an unsatisfied longing?

“New place, new people – same old, same old.  Bloom where you are planted.”

• My wife’s response

In reading Isaiah 54:1-5, how can a barren woman have more children than a mother of several children?

“Concentrate her love of God through all the people and children she meets.  Like a barren school teacher who has many children.  She shapes and molds them.  She gives to them something that the parent’s can’t give them.”

• My wife’s response

My wife was a teacher’s aide for many years (third grade).  She was a Cub Scout Den Leader for seven years.  She touched more children than just our two.  Add to that teaching second hour at church and various Sunday school classes.  She loved the second through fourth grade years.  First graders do not have the reading skills yet.  And fifth graders start to exhibit their “independence.”  In between, she learned that if she made it fun, the children were well-behaved and sponges to learn as much as possible.

In looking at Titus 2, what can older women do for the glory of God?

“Teach the younger women what is good.  Love their husbands and children.  Live pure, self-controlled, kind, Godly lives.”

• My wife’s response

She did a great job of that.  In Scouting, she taught new den leaders for over ten years, long after she stopped having a den herself.  She loved going to Bible studies.  While she learned a lot, she contributed.  When she found a younger woman who was on fire for Jesus, she became a friend, mentor, and encourager.

And who or what groups have been spiritual mentors for you?  And if over 40, who have you invested time in?

“My parents, my first prayer group. – My sisters and my friends.”

• My wife’s response

Her father had his troubles, but he provided a strong moral foundation.  Her mother was full of fun, but a fantastic prayer warrior.  As for the first prayer group, she went to work as a teacher’s aide and the principal of the school realized that four teacher’s aides were all from the same church where she attended, my wife being one of them.  The principal started a prayer group in her office during lunch with the four ladies.  While my wife could have talked to the Pope without blinking, but the elementary school principal required each woman to pray out loud.  Yikes!  My wife had to pray to God in front of other people?!?!?!  But what she learned in that prayer group changed her life.  She did not become on fire for God until about fifteen years later, but when she went to church groups that simply “started”, she called for a point of order.  They should start with prayer.  So, the group leader said, “You came up with the idea; you pray.”  And in a few groups, especially the Red Hat Society, the group would gather.  The leader would say, “And now we will start after our prayer warrior prays for us.”  As a van driver for the church, I heard her say that many times.  No one else ever volunteered, but my wife overcame her jitters for public prayer.

And with whom do you share spiritual gifts in raising spiritual children?

“Teaching my grandchildren about quiet time and Bible study, by showing them much love and kindness.”

• My wife’s response

And she did that a lot, sometimes while sacrificing her own health.  She felt so alive when she was with them.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory