Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

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 gave up trying to rearrange the bedroom.  I do not think she is finished with that thought.  I have a feeling that she will want to use some of her savings to remodel the room entirely, but she is softening me up at the moment.

This week Babs shocked me.

I was in the dining room with my computer.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Babs walk into the room wearing something that exposed all of her legs.  Suddenly, my mind left the homelessness problem.  I was concerned for this young waif who did not have enough cloth in her garment to cover herself adequately.  But upon looking directly at her, she was in a French maid costume.  She was carrying a tray with iced tea.

Babs said, “Ton thé sucré, mon amour. »

I gasped, “Where is the rest of your costume?  And what did you just say?”

Babs smiled and spun around.  “Harold, this is all there is to this costume.  And don’t worry.  I did not buy it for this occasion, I got to keep any costume from my past life that had not been torn off me.  One of my perks.  So, I did not buy this just for the reaction that you failed to give me.  And what I said was ‘your sweet tea, my love.”

I laughed and took a sip of the tea.  “Okay Babs, you have learned how to make really good sweet tea, and you have learned a few words in French.  Do you know any more?”

She asked, “Ça va?”

I replied, “Ça va bien, merci, « 

Babs said, “Don’t say anything more.  I think that’s my limit.”

I shrugged, “Mine too.  Come over and sit down.  I am sure you played this charade for some reason or other.”

She came over and sat on my lap.  She put her arms around my neck and kissed me.  Then, she leaned in and placed her head on my shoulder.

Babs sighed, “When we are gone, what will anyone remember of us?”

I said, “Babs, we, that is you and I, just got started.  Let’s not think of the end, but… ‘The name of the righteous is used in blessings, but the name of the wicked will rot.’ (Proverbs 10:7).  But on this earth, I think we will soon be forgotten.  It is rare when a statue is erected for a good man, and for a good common man, that simply never happens.  Maybe a sports star who is a devout Christian might get remembered for athletic excellence, but not for their giving back to others.  ‘Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever.’ (Psalm 112:6).  But in this world of sorrows, we are soon forgotten.  Yet, Scripture is never wrong.  Who, then, remembers?”

Babs sighed, “Jesus does.  ‘Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.’ (Isaiah 49:15-16).  But I never knew my grandparents.  Won’t our grandchildren remember us?”

I shrugged, “I can close my eyes and remember my grandparents and how godly they were.  I could tell Janella all the stories in my memory about all four of them, but in the years to come, Janella might remember that Pake told wonderful stories.  Maybe she will remember that the stories are about her ancestors, but yet, they will still only be stories.  ‘A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.’ (Proverbs 22:1).  You see, a good name is what we leave behind, and that can be destroyed by one bad apple.”

Babs leaned in and kissed me.  “Morrie was that bad apple, but he has repented.  And if his naughtiness has been passed on to Matthew and Madison, I don’t see it.”

I said, “But I have seen everything fall apart when a good kid never makes a firm commitment to Christ and then they are guided away by someone who acts like they were demon-possessed.  They get attracted to the rebel that dwells in the other person, and they forget everything they were ever taught.  They end up hating everything they were ever taught.”

Babs gasped, “Harold, let’s think positive thoughts.  Let’s pray a lot.  And let’s think of what God forgets.”

I asked, “What does God forget?”

Babs huffed, “What about His promises in Hebrews? ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”’ (Hebrews 8:12).  And, what about Isaiah 65? ‘“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy.’ (Isaiah 65:17-18).”

I said, “Babs, I think you have graduated.  Why don’t you lead the Bible studies from now on?”

Babs said in a sexy, breathy voice, “I am not the head of the household, Harold.  And you are an elder in the church.  ‘He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)’ (1 Timothy 3:4-5).”

I laughed, “You have that wrapped up neatly.”

Babs smiled, “And I am also wrapped up neatly in my maid costume, but you being an engineer, I think you can figure out how to unwrap me.”

I found a string tie here and a few buttons there.  I was slowly fumbling with those when there was the sound of clearing throats at the kitchen door.

I grumbled, “We are going to have to change the locks.”

Babs sighed, “I love it when you speak of people in a very good light, they walk into the house.  Welcome, Sadie, Matthew and Madison.  Ummm, excuse me while I change.  I was just having a Bible study with Pake.”  With that, she got up and went through the living room to get to the bedroom.

I shrugged, “Yes, we were talking about whether we will be remembered for our good deeds.”

Matthew said, “If what you were doing were good deeds, I don’t think I will ever forget it.”

Sadie huffed, “Matthew Dykstra, I do not know what you think you saw, but there was nothing naughty about it.  Maybe ill-timed, but not naughty.”

Maddie laughed, “Way to go, Pake.  Grabbabs looks great dressed like the maid.  Were you spanking her for leaving dust behind?”

Sadie gasped, “Madison Dykstra, we will have a talk when we get home.”

Maddie translated, “That means she will talk a lot and we will listen.  With Mom, there could be a test.”

Babs came back into the room with a long terrycloth robe.  She asked, “What brings you by, unannounced?  You do know that we are still in the honeymoon phase, don’t you?”

Sadie said, “But I thought that you would be older, wiser, and not wanting to get frisky in the dining room.”

I laughed, “Sadie, you need to think of the last time or better yet, the next time that you have the children away.  Aren’t they going on a storm chase during Holy Week, their Spring Break this year?  You and Morrie should plan something special.  You can rediscover what you think you have lost.”

Babs said, “And I can help with some interesting lingerie.  I don’t have the extensive catalog that Gwen Quinn has, but you will look good.  And as for the French Maid idea, that is all on me.  I made some iced tea.  I brought some to Harold, and then we started talking about our legacy.  We are praying that all our grandchildren love and glorify God.  That is all we want.”

Maddie snickered, “But can I love Jesus and glorify His name and have legs like you have?”

Sadie groaned. “Maddie, Grabbabs is your new grandmother, but you do not share any of her genes.”

Matt said, “Mom, I did not see any jeans at all.”

Sadie started muttering to herself, “Count to ten.  Count to ten.”

Matt and Maddie said, in perfect unison, “We are sorry, Mom.  We will behave.”  They were well practiced, but will they behave?  That was another thing.  Maddie and Babs loved doing something conspiratorially.

I said, “And Sadie, dear, ringing the doorbell would have given Babs enough time to go to the bedroom while I welcomed you to the living room.  Now, does anyone want any iced tea?”

Sadie asked, “What is this about iced tea?”

I shrugged, “I would drink it when I was in the South on sales calls, but Babs learned a few tricks from our hosts when we were on our honeymoon.  You might like it.”

While I said that, Maddie and Babs had gone to the kitchen and poured each of them a glass of sweet tea.

Matt said that it was delicious.  Sadie smiled, and for her that was a compliment.  Babs and Maddie simply winked at each other.

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.

I do not wish to give the impression that my wife ever did a strip tease Bible Study, but we enjoyed the rare occasions when the house was empty, for a while.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.