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 talked about Tony and Mary Jo’s wedding.

This week Babs had special guests from dinner, Sue and Hugh McAdoo.  It seems that Sue was once the closest thing to a daughter that Babs ever had, but in an adult film kind of way.

The doorbell rang.  Babs answered, “It’s the family McAdoo.  Sweet Suzy Q, how do you do?  And you must be Hugh.  And you two are Drew and Lou.  My name is Babs.”

Hugh shrugged, “What?  It doesn’t rhyme.  I am disappointed.”

Babs scrunched her nose, “Okay, just for tonight, I will be Baboo.”

Hugh laughed, “No need.  I was just kidding.”

Babs smiled, “I didn’t think big bosses in DC kidded around.”

Hugh shrugged, “My office is outside DC.  I am not a Depressed Citizen. I am a Marylander.  Sue and I met at the University of Maryland.  Go Terrapins!”

Babs laughed, “Here is my husband, Harold.  No rhyming.  He is Harold.  And here are Willie’s children Jayke and Janella.”

Jayke said, “Can we go play with Sugar?”

I said, “No rolling around on the ground or anything.  Go out and introduce Drew and Lou to Sugar.  Then there will be some serious hand washing before we sit down to eat supper.”

“Yay!” Jayke and Janella yelled, and then they led Drew and Lou out onto the deck and down the stairs to the backyard.

Sue asked, “Are they safe back there?”

Babs said, “There is a fence around the backyard, and there is an invisible fence within that.  If Sugar gets highly agitated and barks a lot, it is probably due to the very smart rabbits.  They will walk up to the edge of the invisible fence, knowing that Sugar will not cross that invisible line.  Sugar let’s them know that they are not playing the game fairly.  But we have gone to the Niblicks and taken Sugar with us.  They have this massive area that connects four different yards and a reasonably sized forested area.  The Niblicks have a full-blooded beagle named Beauty.  And those two can kick up a duet of moaning when they chase a rabbit.”

Hugh asked, “Do you know the Niblicks?”

I nodded, “We had a dinner in their massive kitchen as a kickoff to an advertising campaign for the Feeding the Homeless At Tracy (FHAT).  Since our grandchildren are of similar age and Sugar is a beagle mix, we arrange some play dates so that the dogs can romp.”

Hugh asked, “Babs, is the dog a substitute for children?”

Babs sighed, “I went through menopause while at the assisted living home.  That’s when I had dreams about this guy here teaching a younger me about Jesus.  So, by the time that I accepted Jesus, and then went on my quest to find the man in my dreams, I was beyond the childbearing stage of life.  I am not a pet parent though.  I often cuddle up with Sugar on the back porch, but then when Sugar senses an animal to chase, she is off chasing the animal.  We have a Design by Tensie dog run, but it is the low-tech variety.  The heat and cooling are thermostatically controlled, but we do not have a treat dispenser.  That’s my job.  And we have standard food and water dispensers, a little food and water waiting rather than a measured amount at a specific mealtime.  I think the designers are testing to see which dogs get fat first.  But as the Canaanite woman told Jesus, ‘“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”’ (Matthew 15:27).”

Sue asked, “What?  You quote Scripture?”

Babs smiled, “Of course, ‘I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.’ (Psalm 119:11).  It’s what Harold did in those dreams.  Whatever the younger Babs asked in those dreams, Harold had an answer from the Bible.  I will admit that I look up a lot of it on my phone, but I am getting better.”

Sue asked, “Is that a requirement to being a Christian?  I have known a few and I have never had one blend Bible quotes with normal conversation.”

Harold said, “It’s normal for us.  We talk about one thing or another and it reminds me of a Bible verse.  To get it right and not misquote, I sometimes look up the verse also.”

Hugh smiled, “Sweetie, you have definitely met an old friend that is not like she was when you last knew her.”

Sue grumbled, “So, I guess the two of us going off to do what we used to do in front of the camera is out.”

Babs sighed, “What we had, Suzy, was very special, but it was sin.  ‘Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.’ (Romans 1:26-27).  There is so much talk these days about how there is nothing in the Bible that speaks against homosexual activity.  We make a big deal out of it, and then we excuse it.  No. It is a sin, just like using God’s name is a sin, or telling Mommy that you only got one cookie out of the cookie jar, but you got two.  I could look at your husband and think that he’s kind of cute.  If I went a half step past that assessment, that would be a sin, in that I might desire him.  But when we accept Jesus, all those sins are washed away: past, present, and future.  But if we cling to one sin, that sin will rob us of the joyful life God has in store for us right here, right now.”

Hugh said, “I heard some preacher say that only Paul talked about sexual immorality because he had a specific axe to grind.”

Harold said, “Leviticus 18 says, ‘“‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.’ (Leviticus 18:22).  Then in Leviticus 20. ‘“‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.’ (Leviticus 20:13).”

Sue said, “But both of those talk just about the man with other men…”

Babs sighed, “But, Suzy, the Israelites understood that Leviticus 20 had the same restriction for women as for men.  ‘“‘If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that no wickedness will be among you.’ (Leviticus 20:14).  So. there you can see three people in bed as being bad, but also incest being bad.  The entire chapter is about sexual relations with family, incest.  But like that last verse, it could be just as binding if a woman tried to marry a man and his father.  Even in adult films, they tease the audience with things that are taboo.  The idea that you are about to see someone doing a very nasty sin sells tickets to the movie.  But why would you want to slip off and relive what you did not like doing?  GrandPa, ummm, Millennium Yeggs only rescued women who did not want to do that anymore.  You never said that you were tired of the game.”

Sue sighed, “No, I loved you.  You were the woman that was in charge.  You had it all, but mostly, when we had our scenes together, you knew my body better than I did.  I have never had that kind of a sexual experience since.  I just wanted it one more time.”

Babs scrunched her nose, “Is he a slam, bam, thank you, ma’am kind of guy?  Don’t let him do that.  Maybe start off by telling him to keep his pants on until you have exploded with delight.  Where many wives fail is by expecting the husband to know about her body and to care once he is spent.  I had to teach Harold, and I am his second wife.  Be patient.  I would say, ‘up a little, to the left, no back a little to the right.  That’s the spot! Now, tight circles clockwise.  Nope, counterclockwise, or is he a Brit?  Anticlockwise.’”

Sue fanned her face with her hands, laughing, “I can see it now, and I am getting so hot!”

Babs laughed, “Don’t waste another night.  Become the teacher.  You said that I knew your body better than you do?  No.  If he is off by just a millimeter, let him know.  You discover your body with him doing the work.  Then you will both know.  And years from now, when the physical desire is not there anymore, you will have no regrets.  Otherwise, there will be regrets and guilt.  The guilt is in not enjoying what God created to be enjoyable.”

Hugh said, “So, no taboo stuff.  Whatever my wife and I do in the privacy of our bed is not just okay, but God likes the idea?”

Harold said, “It may not be angels singing type celebration, but yes, God created the body parts.  He created the sensations.  He created the body’s reactions.  All that explosion stuff Babs talked about.  Why leave those things alone and unused because you have a hang up with what God said is wonderful, as long as it is with a man and woman, who are married to each other.  But Deuteronomy talks about crossdressing. ‘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.’ (Deuteronomy 22:5).”

Sue reddened, “Please, don’t remind me.  Our senior year of college, we moved in with each other.  I would talk about how Bountiful Babs could make me howl with delight.  So, one night, I was in bed, wearing slinky lingerie, and this idiot comes in wearing a baby doll and crotchless panties.  I laughed, and he protested that if it took a woman to get me to howl, he would try anything.  I didn’t know that him dressing like that was against the rules.”

I laughed, “It may have been what the false god worshippers were doing, but it is in the Bible.  But Hugh doing that for you means that he wants you to enjoy what you are doing.  I agree with Babs, teach him.  Babs has taught me a lot.  And yes, I hold guilt and regrets that my first wife never told me what to do.  She probably did not know herself.  But do not just give up on getting it done right.  ‘The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.’ (1 Corinthians 7:3-5).  My first wife decided to stop that kind of activity, but then again, she was very ill by that point.  I had to comply and agree.  Babs has given me a new lease on life.”

At that point, the kitchen door that leads to the deck burst open, Drew was the first to run in.

Drew said, “Mommy, Daddy, Sugar chased a rabbit, and the rabbit went just beyond the invisible fence and stopped.  The rabbit just stared at Sugar and Sugar barked louder and louder.  Then we got behind Sugar and growled at the rabbit.  The rabbit ran away, and Sugar turned around and acted like she had chased off the rabbit.  It was so funny!”

Sue said, “Okay, Drew and Lou, wash your hands.  It’s time to eat.  I hear that Harold is a good cook.  If we have any luck, we’ll have another Bible study.”

Jayke said, “Pake is a great cook, and Grabbabs is good too.”

Sue gave a quizzical look, “Grabbabs?”

All four children went to the bathroom and washed their hands.  Hugh supervised.

Babs and Sue had a very long hug.  Yes, they hugged like a mother and daughter who had not seen each other for a long 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.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.