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 and I, Jayke and Janella, and Tony Painter and Little Joe were on our vacation.

This week Babs and I were taking care of Jayke and Janella.  For some strange reason, Gil and Willie needed another couple of days of peace and quiet.

Babs asked our grandchildren, “What was your favorite animal in the park?”

Janella gasped, “Red dogs!  They are so cute.  But why do they have red hair when the mommy and daddy bison have brown hair?”

I asked, “Janella, what color is your hair?”

Janella smiled, “Yellow.”

I nodded, “Yes, you are a very beautiful blonde.  And what color is your mommy’s hair.”

Janella said, “Brown!”

I nodded, “And when you look at pictures of your mommy when she was your age, her hair was blonde, just like yours.  Your hair may not darken, but it probably will.  Your mommy went through stages.  In the summer, she spent all summer outside and her hair would turn back to blonde.  Then she was in school for nine months and it turned back to brown.  Those red dogs will grow up to be just like their mommies and daddies, with brown hair.  But for now, when you see a heard of bison, what some people call buffalo, you can easily see the babies because their hair stands out.”

Jayke quipped, “I have heard of bison, and I have heard of buffalo.”

I groaned, “Jayke, you are too young to be telling old jokes like that.”

Babs sighed, “I know what Jayke is going to say was his favorite animal, but he hasn’t said it yet.”

Jayke said, “The grizzly bear cubs!  The moose was interesting.  We saw a bald eagle.  When the Bible talks about sheep, they are talking about regular sheep, not the bighorn sheep.  They’re tough.  But my favorite had to be the grizzly bear cubs.”

I asked, “And of all the seismic and geological activity, what did you like the best.”

Jayke quickly answered, “The mud pits!  The mud that was boiling.”

Janella made a face of horror, “But they smelled bad!  I liked that spring with all the colors.”

Babs asked, “The Grand Prismatic Spring?”

Janella nodded, “Yeah, it has steam coming up, but the colors were so pretty.”

I said, “All those colors came from the different minerals that formed crystals near the surface.  I agree with you.  That hike was worth seeing the spring.”

Jayke was thinking about something.  I had to ask what was on his mind.

Jayke said, “I just said something about how the Bible talks about sheep being weak, and the bighorn sheep were strong.  Pake, does the Bible say anything about sheep being strong?”

I smiled, “Let’s look at John 10.  Jesus talks about how He is the gate, and the sheep that come to Him are safe.  And He talks about being the Good Shepherd, but then some of the people demanded that Jesus say plainly whether He was the promised Messiah.  Jesus said that they did not believe for they were not His sheep.  Then He said, ‘My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.’ (John 10:27-30).”

Jayke asked, “Does the Old Testament talk about us being sheep?”

Babs giggled, “I had just looked that one up.  It’s in Ezekiel. ‘“‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them. “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.’ (Ezekiel 34:7-11).“

Jayke said, “So, God is saying that we can have strength, but only through Him?”

I smiled, “In a way, He is.  Sure, when you get older, you can go to the weight room and build muscle, but to have the strength to deal with the evil in this world, we need God.  Jesus said, ‘“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.’ (John 15:5).”

Babs scrunched her nose, “And Paul said, ‘But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.’ (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).”

Janella laughed, “Jayke, Grabbabs found that verse on her phone!”

Babs huffed, “I don’t have the entire Bible memorized, Janella, but I know when I have read a verse here or there.  So, it makes it easy to find.  Okay?”

Janella hugged Babs around the neck, “I love you, Grabbabs.”

I smiled, “Babs, you make a good point.  We have been talking about for where our strength comes, but not how.  We can pray and God will give us strength, if that strength is required.  But just living in this fallen world requires knowledge.  What is bad?  What should we avoid?  ‘All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’ (2 Timothy 3:16-17).”

Babs giggled, “And, Jayke, before you ask about the Old Testament…  ‘The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.’ (Proverbs 18:15).”

Jayke said, “But don’t we seek with our eyes?  How do we seek with our ears?”

I laughed, “We listen, Jayke.  Do you remember your Mommy telling you about your selective hearing?  When you play a video game or when your favorite cartoon show is on, it is impossible for you to hear your mother.  When you go to church, do you listen to everything your Daddy says?  Can you tell me what he said during his last sermon?”

Jayke said, “No, we were at Yellowstone.”

I sighed, “Jayke, I meant the last time you were at church.”  Jayke shook his head.  I nodded, “I thought so.  And by the way, the sermon you missed was a sermon on Peter’s sermon on Pentecost.  Peter pointed out things from Old Testament prophecies that the people in the crowd saw the day Jesus died.  Babs and I watch all his sermons.  They are on the church website.  Again, using our phones for something good rather than wasting time on our phones.  Not that we don’t play a game or two.  But you can concentrate on your Daddy’s sermons and at least understand what the topic was.  You can hear the sermon, but you did not really pay attention.  That is why Jesus talked about those who have ears to hear.  They all had ears, or they would not have heard Him say that.  But were you able to hear it, take those words to heart, understand it, and then change your behavior to be more like Jesus.  That gets back to how we do not have the strength to do that.  It requires God giving us the strength.  We then supply the willingness and eagerness to learn.”

Babs said, “And again from the Old Testament it talks about that. ‘Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have insight, I have power. By me kings reign and rulers issue decrees that are just; by me princes govern, and nobles—all who rule on earth. I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver. I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me and making their treasuries full.’ (Proverbs 8:9-21).  The first part is about why we should seek wisdom and knowledge.  Then wisdom, herself, calls out to have us come to her.  Yeah, her, it says so in those verses.”

I just shook my head.

Then, there was a knock at the door.  I faintly heard Little Joe talking to his Dad.  Jayke jumped up and answered the door.  “Hi, they’re in the living room talking about knowledge.”

Tony came into the room, “Did you ever think about why the Nebraska Cornhuskers have an ‘N’ on the side of their helmets?”

I had heard the joke before, but I asked, “No, why?”

Tony shrugged, “They are a university of higher education.  The ‘N’ stands for knowledge.”

Babs asked, “I apologize Tony in asking you and Joe to come along on our vacation when Joe had a week of school left.  Was he in much trouble when he got back?”

Little Joe beamed, “No, that’s why we came over.  The class pretty much watched movies all week long.  But when I showed her the PowerPoint deck that Dad put together, she called the principal.  The next thing I knew, they had kindergarten through the third grade all in the auditorium.”

Babs gasped, “Were you scared?  Public speaking is one of the biggest fears most people have.”

Joe laughed, “I didn’t have time to be scared.  The deck started with a picture of all of us that somebody else took in front of Old Faithful when it erupted.  I showed pictures of the mountains, valleys, geysers, mud pots, and both falls, upper and lower.  Then the part that everybody liked were the pictures of the animals.  I told them that was why we went when they did.  The timing was perfect.  We had pictures of elk calves, bear cubs, and red dogs (baby bison).  I had pictures of frogs and chipmunks for the small animals.  I had pictures of moose and bison for the big animals.  Thanks for the telephoto lens pictures of the bighorn sheep, Pake.  And then I had some pictures from the trip home when we saw the antelope.”

I asked, “Did everybody like it?”

Joe continued, “Yeah, and when I showed the picture of the mama Grizzly bear, I had a Bible verse.  I wanted them to know that it wasn’t safe to feed the bears and never get between the mama bear and her cubs.  So, Dad found a great verse.  ‘From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. ‘Get out of here, baldy!’ they said. ‘Get out of here, baldy!’ He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.’ (2 Kings 2:23-24).  I think the teacher liked it because we have lessons on not being a bully and calling people names.  And it showed how dangerous bears can be.”

I sighed, “If we had only gotten pictures of lions and snakes, you could have used Amos 5:19. ‘It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him.’ (Amos 5:19).”

Babs said, “Lions, and bears, and snakes, for Heaven sakes!”

Jayke and Janella started chanting, “Lions, and bears, and snakes, for Heaven sakes” over and over.

I groaned, “That’s not how that line goes!  Give it a rest.”

Little Joe sighed, “There was one problem.”  Babs said, “Oh?”  Joe nodded, “Since it was all the lower grades, Grace was there.  When everyone got in line by class to go back to their rooms, Grace jumped out of line and told me that she loved the slideshow.  Then she kissed me on the cheek.”

I laughed, “I can see how that was a little embarrassing.  In a few years, the other boys would be jealous, but not at your age.”

Joe sighed again. “That wasn’t the worst part.  She said, a little bit too loud, ‘I’ll see you at the wedding next week when you walk me down the aisle.”

Babs and I couldn’t contain ourselves.  We doubled over laughing.

Babs scrunched her nose, “I guess explaining that you were a groomsman and Grace was a bride’s maid in someone else’s wedding fell on deaf ears.”

Joe nodded, “I got teased about how Grace and I were getting married, and how none of my friends were invited.  And the old taunt about Grace and Joe, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

Tony laughed, “At least Joe did well in spelling.”

Joe huffed, “Not funny, Dad.”

Then, the door opened again.  Willie and Gil entered.

Willie said, “I thought we might pick up our children now.  You have had them for more than a week.  The reports are that they behaved, but now you can tell me the real story.”

Babs winked, “I’ll give you all the details if you explain why you and Gil took a day and a half before you came to pick up your children after we were back.”

Willie, in a stage whisper, “Ix-Nay on the Tory-Say.”

Joe turned to his Dad, “That was Pig Latin, Dad.  I’ll translate it on the way home.”

Tony smiled, “No need, Joe.  You know after Mary Jo and I get married, we’ll want to add more to the family, right?”  Little Joe nodded.  Tony laughed, “I think they might have some new playmates.”

Gil and Willie went through every shade of red in the book.

Babs turned to me and said, “I told you I did not think they were done.”

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 had this ‘Credit’ last week, but… My wife never saw a bear in the wild.  We made a trip to a variety of national parks that are noted for bears.  The one we visited the most was the Great Smokie Mountain National Park.  When I was growing up, I never failed to see bears in that park.  Once I married my wife, I have never seen one in that park since.  When we camped at Philmont Scout Ranch, they had the Dads patrol the campsite during the night to give a bear warning.  There had been dangerous bear activity in the area.  Again, nothing.

In searching for the best time to see animals in Yellowstone, May was mentioned as the time when the babies came out to explore the world.  Late fall was the best time for bighorn sheep to ram their heads together, along with rutting routines for the other animals.

The Cornhusker joke was first told to me by a Cornhusker.

The line about “Lions and bears and snakes for Heaven sakes” is a play on the repeated line in The Wizard of Oz, “Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh, my!”

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.