“If anyone uncovers a pit or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it, the one who opened the pit must pay the owner for the loss and take the dead animal in exchange.
- Exodus 21:33-34
“‘Of the animals that move along the ground, these are unclean for you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard, the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon. Of all those that move along the ground, these are unclean for you. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean till evening. When one of them dies and falls on something, that article, whatever its use, will be unclean, whether it is made of wood, cloth, hide or sackcloth. Put it in water; it will be unclean till evening, and then it will be clean. If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot. Any food you are allowed to eat that has come into contact with water from any such pot is unclean, and any liquid that is drunk from such a pot is unclean. Anything that one of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; an oven or cooking pot must be broken up. They are unclean, and you are to regard them as unclean. A spring, however, or a cistern for collecting water remains clean, but anyone who touches one of these carcasses is unclean. If a carcass falls on any seeds that are to be planted, they remain clean. But if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.
- Leviticus 11:29-38
The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
- Acts 10:15
In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me.
- Numbers 14:29
If you see your fellow Israelite’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help the owner get it to its feet.
A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.
If you come across a bird’s nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young. You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.
When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.
- Deuteronomy 22:4-8
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
- Matthew 10:29-31
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
- Mark 14:38
He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit?
- Luke 6:39
The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.
- Acts 28:6
for all have sinned and fallshort of the glory of God,
- Romans 3:23
As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”
- Romans 9:33
Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.
- 1 Corinthians 8:13
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.
In her leaving, she said someone would come. I had thought that was Jesus, in His second coming, but a new Babs, a little older, the model for the posable action figure arrived. While I had no desire to start over with romance, Morrie helped her move in, thinking she was the other Babs who had returned.
This Week’s Question
Last week Babs and I found some kindred spirits of sorts when we double dated with Dr. Kildare and Mags. Dr. Kildare is a widower like me and unsure about dating again. And Mags Lothrop would go wherever Dr. Kildare went, just to be with him.
It was one of our less busy days. Babs was upstairs in her bedroom which is over the kitchen where I was reading while our casserole was baking in the oven. We were going to have an interesting supper.
I heard a resounding thud upstairs. Had Babs fallen? Had she knocked over her bookshelf? I didn’t know what I should do. We had not discussed what would happen if one of us needed to come to the aid of the other. I started hearing some non-rhythmic thumping. Maybe she was fixing her own mess. As I was about to walk to the bottom of the stairs and call her down for supper, my phone rang.
Babs said, “I fell. And you didn’t call. I could have died up here and you didn’t show concern.”
I replied, “Sorry, Babs, I was about to yell up the stairs to say supper was about ready and to ask if you needed help.”
Babs said, “Do not come up. I’m not dressed!”
I huffed, “What do you want? Do you want me to help you or do you want me to stay away?”
Babs moaned, “I wanted you to show concern.”
I groaned, “I was getting around to it. I apologize for being slow. We have not discussed what would happen if the other of us needs help. But if you are naked, do you do that often? Are you missing the old days?”
Babs growled, “Harold, I want to forget the old days. And yes, I do get naked often, every time I take a bath.”
I swallowed hard, “I’m sorry, Babs, but wait. It’s not even dark yet. In the winter, that’s early afternoon.”
Babs sighed, “Yeah, I wanted to smell my best when we got together for supper. You know, hair all in place, a little perfume, not too much, my teeth brushed, even though we are eating a meal, make sure my nose isn’t shiny.”
I interrupted, “Don’t worry. I never notice a shiny nose, but yours is quite pretty, shiny or not.”
Babs said, “Harold, I know you are not ready for romance, but I want to always put my best foot forward, and tonight I slipped and fell putting on my underwear. I have been systematically checking arms and legs and all in between to see if I hurt myself. I’m okay, but what you said about emergency procedures, we need to work those out. Even if I am in the shower, naked, we need to figure that out.”
I suggested, “We can at least discuss it after our Bible study. I think we can talk about falls. I am not prepared for that, but we can look for ‘fall’ in the NIV.”
Babs giggled, “That sounds good. I’ll be down in a little while.”
When she arrived, she was wearing a new dress, or was it a very old dress, but one that I had never seen her wear. Old style dresses, reminiscent of Life magazine advertisements, seemed to be the chosen style of Barbara Bounty. There was no hair out of place. She looked lovely, and she smelled like a fresh floral bouquet.
Babs giggled, scrunched her nose, and said, “Do you want to see my bruise from when I fell?”
I shrugged, “Sure, I do care about you, you know.”
Babs looked shocked, “Sir, I should slap you for you suggesting I show you my bottom.”
I asked, “So, is that the way you want to play this game?” She giggled. But I added, “But how do you know that you have a bruise on your bottom? Do you have eyes in the back of your head?”
Babs laughed, “Morrie was here earlier this week, and he installed extra mirrors. If you want to see your bottom, come on up. But then again, you’d have to get naked in a lady’s boudoir. Are you prepared to become scandalous?”
I shook my head. “I am not ready for anything like that, but I will admit that you are becoming a comfortable part of this house. And we definitely need to talk about what might happen if a fall is worse than a bruised tooshie.”
Babs giggled, “Tooshie. I like that. What’s for supper? It smells so good.”
I shrugged, “It’s a chicken and broccoli casserole. The hunks of bread are fresh baked German rolls from the Lily the Pink Bakery. I went by there about lunch time. I’m experimenting with casseroles. I take a recipe from an online magazine and then change it up. I know how much you like rosemary.”
Babs said, “Rosemary was a nice girl, but I like you better.”
I tried to hold it in, but I laughed anyway. We sat down and had a wonderful conversation about a friend of Babs who was named Rosemary. I have no idea if she ever existed. It seemed more like a fictional adventure story blending Robert Louis Stevenson and Mark Twain.
After the Black Forest Tort, fresh from the Lily the Pink Bakery, we settled down with our Bibles. While she had been getting “gussied up,” I had written down some Bible references, almost by random. I was being playful tonight. I hoped that she didn’t mind.
I read Exodus 21:33-34. I said, “Aren’t you glad you are not an ox or donkey? You fall in a pit and there’s no way to get you out and you die there.”
Babs tried to keep a straight face, but she lost it. “Are we both being playful tonight? Do you have any more Bible verses about animals falling?”
I nodded, and Babs groaned. I read Leviticus 11:29-38. Babs huffed, “Shame on you, Harold! I am no weasel, rat, or lizard. And in trusting in God, my sins are wiped clean. So, I invoke Acts 10:15. Since God has washed me clean, I am clean. Who are you to call me unclean, Mister?” Then she started giggling again.
I replied, “Well, you didn’t fall into the pot or the casserole dish. I would hate to smash my casserole dishes. Those things are getting pricey these days.”
Babs asked, “Are you going to get serious at all tonight?”
I said, “How about everyone who was in the census falling in the wilderness and dying there, except for those who trusted in God? That’s serious, and it is in Numbers 14, after the Israelites rebelled against God, not having faith that they could conquer the people inhabiting the Promised Land. They would wander for forty years until the last of those rebellious people had died and fallen to the ground in the wilderness. All except Joshua and Caleb, the faithful spies.”
Babs asked, coyishly, “Do you think I am a faithful spy?”
I snickered, “Oh, you may be quite faithful, but who is your spymaster, my dear?” I tried to raise and lower my eyebrows for effect, but I’m not good at it. My failure made Babs laugh.
Babs asked, “Do you have anything serious to say tonight?”
I shrugged, “Deuteronomy 22 gets back on the ox and donkey falling again, but this time, you are to try to rescue them.”
Babs fanned herself, “That is a relief. If my ox or ass falls in the shower, I can expect you to help me.”
I corrected her, “Let’s not get vulgar about it, Babs. The verse states donkey, not ass.”
Babs, still fanning herself, replied, “Well, your ass may be domesticated, but mine has not been tamed. I do not know if my ass will ever be tamed.”
I groaned, “Now, who is the one who is not being serious?”
Babs laughed, “But, the next verse in Deuteronomy 22 says that men should not wear women’s clothing and women should not wear men’s clothing. Do I have the throw out all my men’s boxer shorts and T-shirts? I saw young Babs in my dreams wearing that and I thought that was a great idea. I have worn that stuff to bed ever since.”
I shrugged, “Maybe that is something that is unisex clothing. But come to think of it. I have never seen you in a pair of jeans.”
Babs shrugged, “I don’t own any jeans.”
I shrugged, “I guess that explains that. But back to Deuteronomy 22, a few verses later, the rule about having a parapet around the roof is mentioned. So, God builds into Levitical Law an OSHA rule, if you will. I see the strange look on your face. The Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA). In biblical times, they had flat roofs. In hot desert climates, they would climb up on the roof where there might be a breeze, but you could benefit from the radiation of heat into deep space regardless of whether there was a breeze or not. It would be the coolest place to cool the body down before bedtime, but what if you drink some wine and get tipsy? The parapet is there to prevent you from falling off the roof and getting seriously hurt.”
Babs said, “Wow. God thought of everything. Okay, I guess so. He’s God. But is there anything in the New Testament about falls?”
I smiled, “Jesus teaches that if a sparrow falls, it falls to the ground in the Father’s care. That comes from Matthew 10. In Mark 14, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus says that the disciple should guard against falling into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Babs moaned, “Harold, Mark 14:38 is a verse that I read a lot. You keep saying that you are not ready for romance. Your wife has not been gone two years yet, and you still do not think you are ready. But I have a totally different problem. My temptation is to rip your clothes off and my clothes off and do unspeakable things to you. It’s the way all the movies that I made turned out at one point or another. My flesh is weak, Harold. I yearn for a normal dating relationship that is followed by a marriage and a monogamous healthy relationship. I have never experienced that, and now that Jesus is in my heart, that is my desire, but the old me is tempted to take shortcuts. Please, Harold, if I fall down while in the shower, I want you to rescue me, but do not take advantage of the situation. I am still fighting even saying these words, but I want our relationship, if we have anything going on here, to be a pure thing.”
I smiled, and leaned over and kissed her on the lips, “I promise. Do you want to go on?” She nodded, eagerly. I suddenly stopped and looked at her. She looked at me eagerly. I asked, “Was that nod that you want more Bible verses or you want more kisses?” She giggled and nodded. I realized that meant both. I lifted my Bible and fanned myself. “Okay, Luke 6:39 speaks of the blind leading the blind. If that happens, they both fall into the pit, but as long as we look toward Jesus, we can avoid being blind in that way. Acts 28 mentions that the people of Malta and the fellow shipwreck survivors thought Paul would fall over dead after being bitten by the snake, but he did not have any reaction other than to shake the snake off into the fire. But you know Romans 3:23. It speaks of all of us falling short of God’s Glory. Romans 9:33 speaks of a rock that makes people stumble and fall, but those who believe in Jesus will be safe. And first Corinthians 8:13 speaks to us both. It speaks of something, anything that might lead to someone else falling into sin. Babs, if our relationship is meant to blossom, I think that it will never happen until we know that what we will do next is not sin, and not perceived as sin by either of us.”
Babs said nothing, but her eyes filled with tears. She turned to me, and we hugged. She was crying, and I was feeling like I might lose it at any moment.
Then, there was a breeze in the room that I had only felt once before. And I thought I heard young Babs say, “You still aren’t ready, but I knew you would figure it out.”
And then my tears began to flow.
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.
Late in her life, my wife was not that romantic. She accepted God’s forgiveness, but she looked back on her life, and she could not separate the intimate mistakes from the pure intimacy that we had. We loved each other more deeply than we had ever loved each other, but the physical was rarely there, even few hugs and kisses. We loved each other by being there for each other, holding onto each other so that neither of us fell down. Two people, but one flesh.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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