Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

The Scriptures will be embedded in the story.

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 felt the Joy from being part of the family.

This week, Babs was excited for the future.

Babs came into the dining room where I had paperwork spread out over the dining room table. She said, “46 days and counting.  I want it to be tomorrow, but then again, the wedding dress only gets here next week, along with a dress that is cut the same way in my usual polka dots.”

I smiled, “And what is that for?”

Babs snickered, “You are worried that a figure revealing wedding dress will expose too much when we do our dancing.  So, I do not have a train.  And my other dress is something you can see before the wedding.  We can practice with me in that dress.  That way, we both have reassurance that the dance works out great.  And if we have an accident, only Bea and Bro get the peep show.”

I gasped, “And me, too.  I don’t know if I can handle seeing such things before the wedding.”

Babs sighed, “I am still concerned for you, Harold.  I don’t know if you can handle such things on our wedding night, but where we will be has changed.”

I huffed, “Do not start making plans for a honeymoon.  That is the groom’s responsibility.  We have our food bank appointments.  A few weeks after the wedding, I hope to take you off to a cabin in the Rockies for the week, leaving after church on Sunday and returning before the next food bank the next Saturday.  We agreed on it.”

Babs scrunched her nose, “But we have a wedding that was supposed to be free.  But you know how ‘free’ things are never free.  Here is a letter from Pink Lady.”

She handed me a letter that she had obviously already read.  I leaned back in my office chair, and she sat at the table next to me.

I asked, “Have you read this?”

She nodded eagerly.  “Harold, my name is at the top, before yours.”  She giggled.

I shrugged, “Okay.  I will read it out loud.  Dear Babs and Harold, I have given you the wedding destination.  I have arranged for volunteers to help with the cake, the meal, everything.  Emmett is organizing the band for the reception at no cost.  His family was once homeless and then for a time they were at the mission downtown.  He is one of many volunteers.  None of that costs you a dime.  Babs has paid for her wedding dress, but at a drastic discount since the designer owes Gwen Quinn some favors.  I am not saying this to tell you that you owe me anything, but I hope you are at least a little appreciative.
“But I have heard through the grapevine that you are planning on going back to your home and spending the rest of the week reorganizing the house so that you share one bedroom.  May I tell you that I regret not having a honeymoon?  I had barely relearned how to walk, after the poisoning robbed me of that ability for a while.  I had a cider operation that I had to run.  I learned how to delegate after the wedding.  We only took our first vacation this past summer.  But by then, we had Kanok, Joon, and Sparkle.  Grannie Fannie came along as a bus driver and to babysit so that Scrammie and I could have some personal time.  Please, do not turn down the offer I am about to make.
“We have an employee who some people call ‘Sknarf.’  He is Gordon Franks, who is our instructional design specialist, and he is courting Julia, the head of security at the Tracy campus.  I have encouraged Gordon to allow me to have his home near Savannah, GA, actually south of Vidalia, GA.  The deed is still in his name, but I have had his uncle work with a contractor to renovate the house for handicap access and set up as a honeymoon destination.  Gordon’s uncle plans to hire someone to keep the house setup properly and act as the chauffeur, but his uncle will do that for now.  I have learned that Amy G. Dala has to be in Savannah, GA and Jacksonville, FL for business meetings.  She wants to purchase the rights to some instructional software that the utilities have developed.  She will take over the maintenance of the software from them, something they cannot presently handle, and then she can market the software worldwide, something they would have difficulty in doing.  Only she and Ralph E. Newman, her husband, are going.  The rest of the airplane is yours, free of charge.  It would just be empty space if you did not go.
“At the Savannah airport, Gordon’s uncle will meet you.  He will have a rental car ready for the Newmans.  He will take you to Gordon’s house.  He will supply the meals, but the fridge is stocked also.  He will drive you to Charleston, SC, Savannah, GA, and St. Augustine, FL.  All three locations have quaint historical districts, cute shoppes, and tourist type things to do.  You could do an overnight trip to enjoy the ghost tours or a day trip.  He will have all the information, but you decide what you want to do, and when you want to do it.
“You will then be reunited with the Newmans roughly a week later for the return flight home.
“This will mean that you will miss one food bank distribution.  Rev. Joseph Jones will fill in for Harold with a sign saying that he is filling in for you, along with photos from the wedding to be taken by Jemima L. Yeggs, my talented niece by marriage.  Jemima, a.k.a. Stinker, and Joseph’s wife, Mary, a.k.a. B.B., will fill in for Babs.  Mary is pregnant, so Jemima will be helping.
“Of course, nothing is truly ‘free’.  I need some reviews for the website, the usual ad copy that you are very good at writing.  But I want you to be as brutal as possible in a critique.  Yes, everything will be wonderful and at no cost to you, but each glitch can be fixed, and it should be fixed before the first paid customer arrives.  That is my only request in return.  I am recovering my upfront costs gradually once it becomes a commercial enterprise, but the rest goes to Gordon and soon to his bride, Julia.  I do not wish to lose either of them, and if his home is a money maker, he might not want to move back and ruin the deal.  I apologize, but I have my tricks.
“Sincerely Yours, Pink Lady Apple Yeggs, P.L.A.Y.
“P.S. Please, respond with agreement, rumors abound that I organized a kidnapping that became a honeymoon for Kevin and Joseline Johnson, but can you really trust these youngsters and their crazy stories these days?”

Babs laughed, “I have heard the kidnapping story, but in the end, they got paid while they were storm chasers.  And the honeymoon kind of happened during the trip.”

I snickered, “I caught part of that story.  I think it was all setup ahead of time and only Joseline thought the kidnapping was real until they got into the Turtle and the kidnappers removed their masks.”

Babs sneered, “Yeah, but you must know that Pink Lady grew up in a crime family.  She probably still has contacts.”

I smiled, “Okay, okay.  Let’s write Pink Lady a nice thank you letter and a ‘Yes’ to her thinly veiled threat.  Just no rough stuff when they kidnap us.”

Babs smiled, “With us saying we will comply with her request, there will not be any rough stuff or fake kidnapping.”

I laughed, “Yeah, and we get something else free from Pink Lady.  Then again, the Newmans may be the ones out the money unless they really need to take a business trip to the southern east coast.  It almost looks like a second honeymoon for them too.”

Babs giggled, “Amy is pregnant.  Maybe that’s it.  One more flight as newlyweds before they become a family.  But we must look at this as a gift from God, and as 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, ‘give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.’”

I said, “But we must focus all our energies toward God.  “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17).”

Babs groaned, “Of course, Sweetie.  I love you as you love me.  We will marry each other in 46 days.  ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.’ (Psalm 107:1).”

I laughed, “Yes, we will ‘Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.’ (Psalm 100:4).”

I quoted, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6).  With prayer and thanksgiving, and with faith, who has the time for anxiety?”

Babs said, “Yes, Harold, this year will be a year of things in which we can be thankful.  We will be married.  We will continue serving God the way we are already doing.  And who knows what God has in store for us in 2027. ‘But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1 Corinthians 15:57).”

I smiled, “Yes, we will be victorious.  We will base that victory on furthering God’s kingdom.  ’Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”’ (Hebrews 12:28-29).”

Babs scrunched her nose and asked, “Do you think we overdid it with our memory verses for this week?”

I laughed, “No, one more.”

Babs giggled and said, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (Ephesians 5:18-20)”

I sighed, “Yes, this year we will be giving thanks a lot, regardless of our circumstances.”

Babs smiled, “I love you, Harold Dykstra.”

I nodded, “And I love you.  Have you gotten used to the idea that you will be a Dykstra in 46 days?”

Babs scrunched her nose, “Which sounds better: Barbara Dykstra or Babs Dykstra?”

I smiled, “Whichever one you are using at the moment, but you will always be Babs to me.”

I kissed her briefly.

And Babs said, “You are not getting away that easily.”  And then she wrapped her arms around me and we lost all thought of time.

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 often said that we do not thank God enough.  But then again, He has given us so much, how could we?

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.