Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

• Ephesians 1:11-12

The Boilerplate

My wife started to write her thoughts down at one point in her life.  Some hints point to 2018 and 2019, after she had her open-heart surgery.  In spite of her trials and the atrial fibrillation (A-Fib) that required her to take blood thinners, this was before her major health decline.

Sometimes, she wrote a thought.  Other times, she wrote a Bible verse, and maybe her idea on that day.  Other times, it is a prayer, but I am going to take one entry at a time and try to write about it

Her comment

“It’s in Christ that we first find who we are and what we are living for.”

• My wife’s next comment in this notebook

The Discussion

In her notebook she only listed the first verse that is quoted above, but her comments include part of the second verse.

The million years and evolution worldview say that we are simply a cosmic accident.  All the millions of things to produce life came together and we evolved from some primordial goo, an accident with no purpose.

I have written how the proponents of this idea that we have no purpose seem to be driven with the purpose of convincing us there is no purpose in life.  Thus, they live a contradiction that they cannot see or will not admit.

But my wife seemed to not focus on those things.  Her bent was not philosophy.  She was on this earth.  She was a mother, and she accepted that responsibility wholeheartedly.  For her, “mother” was an action verb.

But as an empty nester, she started to enjoy the grandmother role, but deep down, she knew she needed a greater purpose, although motherhood was a high purpose for her.

She fed the poor and homeless whenever she could, until her health started to fail.

But in this note in her notebook, she is finding her true purpose in life, to worship and glorify God forever.

Some people figure that out quickly, but some have to ponder that for some time.

After all, what they naturally did in what they thought their earthly role was, was to show love to others around them.  Family first, and then neighbors.

In her empty nest years, she became very introspective, without losing that fun side of herself.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory