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

One day last week, Babs quizzed me on Prophets, Priests, and Kings, but she was really filling in a crossword puzzle.

This week Babs talked me into spending a little of the money that she received from selling her production company on a massage.

It wasn’t just any massage.  She kept hearing her friends in the Yeggs collection of families that Randell Handel, a.k.a. Handsy Randy, was a magician with his hands.  We invited Polly and Randy Handel over for dinner, but before we ate, Randy set up his portable massage table.  He gave Babs a bikini to change into.  It advertised his clinic that had only been open a few months.

Babs was uncomfortable in the bikini in that people her age should not wear such things in public.  It had been a long time since anyone had seen her in a bikini, but no one asked how long it had been since people saw her without the bikini…

Polly was present to make sure nothing weird happened, and I was there to observe, in case I might learn something.  Besides, Ronald Reagan said, “Trust, but Verify.”

Babs was moaning with pleasure and thanking him often.  But then she surprised me with something that I thought would not come up until after dinner.  She asked, “Randy, if I can call you that. Or is it Dr. Handel, PhD?  I see by your smile that Randy is fine.  We have two observers who might get bored.  You have the aroma therapy and the mood lighting.  The soft jazz is great.  And the oils are very aromatic.  Our observers might fall asleep on us.  Why don’t we have them look up the word ‘hands’ in the NIV.”

We snickered, but I found one for starters, “Babs, there are nearly six hundred.  How about this one?  ‘”Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.’ (Genesis 16:6).”

Babs huffed, “Harold!  How could you?  Nearly 600 and you choose that one?”

Polly laughed, “I heard that you did this kind of thing.  I had the same app on my phone.  ‘Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”’ (Genesis 20:5).”

Babs gasped, “Randy, they are here to make sure that we do not do anything naughty, but then Harold brings up Hagar, and Polly brings up Abraham passing off Sarah as being his sister in front of Abimelek.”

Randy laughed, “You need to calm down.  Your muscles tense when you get upset.  Maybe after their initial jokes, they will calm down themselves.”

I whispered to Polly, “I think Babs would be upset with…  ‘She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins.’ (Genesis 27:16).  Maybe we should move to another book.”

Babs sighed, “Polly, does Randy give you a massage every night?”

Polly shook her head, “When we first married, yes, but after I showed up to work with my knees wobbling, the squad room joked we were doing more than just massage.”

Babs replied, “Well, I hope you were.  What else should newlyweds be doing?”

Polly said, “Yeah, but the squad room can get raunchy and graphic.”

I asked, “In Dev Yeggs squad room?”

Polly laughed, “Absolutely not.  I was talking about downstairs with the uniformed police.  I did not make detective until three months ago.  Happy Memorial Day!  Oh, here are two from the same chapter in Exodus.  “Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”.  (Exodus 17:9).  “When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.”  (Exodus 17:12).”

I laughed, “When we play this game, Babs loves those verses that have the special word multiple times.  She thinks she should get a bonus for each mention of the word.”

Randy asked, “Well, do you give her the bonus points?”

I replied, “You two are still newlyweds.  Do you have to ask?”

Randy replied, “Okay, when she begs for a rule change that favors her, I do not call that letting her win.”

I nodded, “’Anyone the man with a discharge touches without rinsing his hands with water must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.‘ (Leviticus 16:11).  It has a man with a discharge of some kind, but the rest is about taking a bath.”

Babs sighed, “I will accept that verse, but it amazes me that you bathe and yet you are still ceremonially unclean until sundown.”

I huffed, “It’s not that they were not clean, but they were not ceremonially clean.  Those kinds of things had to wait for tomorrow.”

Babs purred, “But Harold, I am going to be extra limber tonight.”

I swallowed hard, “Not that kind of discharge.  Think more along the lines of diarrhea and maybe sexually transmitted diseases.”

Babs turned to me, “Let’s move to Ezra.  Anything there?”

I smiled, “Babs, until you get to the minor prophets, the only book missing is Ruth.  Hands come into the conversation in many ways.”

I said, “But because our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.’ (Ezra 5:12).”

Polly said, “Here’s a short one.  ‘’Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.” (Ezra 10:4), and Lord my God, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands—’ (Psalm 7:3).”

Babs said, “I like the psalms, too.”

Randy smiled, “Yes, and you are relaxing.  You are doing great, Mrs. Dykstra.”

Babs asked, “What did you just call me?”

Randy hesitated, “Mrs. Dykstra?”

Babs scrunched her nose.  “You can call me Babs, but I like hearing both the Mrs. and the Dykstra.  We’ve only been married six months.  I haven’t heard it enough to get used to it, but I love hearing it.”

I laughed, “Behave you two.  ‘You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet:’ (Psalm 8:6).”

Babs laughed, “I have no idea what is under my feet.  I can’t even feel them right now.”

Polly said, “Yep, I have been there on that very table. ‘The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.’ (Psalm 24:4).”

Babs smiled, “Okay.  I hope Randy’s hands are clean.  And I pray that his heart is also.”

Randy laughed, “Yes, Babs, my heart belongs to God and Polly.  In that order.  More psalms, Babs is really relaxed.”

Polly said, “I’ve got a two-fer. ‘in whose hands are wicked schemes, whose right hands are full of bribes.’ (Psalm 26:10).”

I huffed, “What is this?  We invite guests to our humble abode, and they always side with Babs?”

Babs sighed, “A happy Babs, a happy life.”

I muttered, “That’s supposed to be ‘a happy wife, a happy life.’”

Babs groaned, “I am your wife.”

I sighed, “But the line doesn’t rhyme.  ‘When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted.’ (Psalm 77:2).”

Babs sighed, half asleep, “That didn’t rhyme either.”

I groaned, “Hebrew poetry does not have to rhyme.”

Babs sighed, “English, what a dumb language.  Too many rules.”

I snickered, “In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.’ (Psalm 102:25).”

Babs scrunched her nose. “I think I like knowing that our God made everything.  I had no idea what I was getting into when I married a retired engineer.  Relying on things that manmade can drive you to drink.”

I huffed, “Babs, I’m right here.”

Babs laughed, “I know, and I love you, but is there anything in the prophets?”

Polly said, “Harold mentioned that we are missing some of the minor prophets.  Even then, over half have a verse or two mentioning hands.  At least, seven of the twelve.  But here’s one from Isaiah. ‘For in that day every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold your sinful hands have made.’(Isaiah 31:7).”

Babs smiled, “A time with no dirty movies, no off-color jokes on television, no more brain washing that God is dead and the secular world has the answers.  We have a lot of false gods.”

I smiled, “How about Daniel?  ‘While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.’ (Daniel 2:34).  It comes from Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.”

Babs laughed, “And when it is just the two of us, how do you pronounce Nebuchadnezzar?”

I moaned, “I break it down.  Nebu – Chad – Nezzar.  I had difficulty spelling Nebuchadnezzar, but when I break it into those three parts, I have had no problems ever since.”

Polly smiled, “How about Haggai? ‘I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not return to me,’ declares the Lord.’ (Haggai 2:17).”

Babs smiled, “Can we invite Polly over more often?  That’s the first time we have mentioned Haggai.  You know, except when we were reading the Bible in a year.”

Randy asked, “Do I get to come to?”

Babs giggled, “I might need another massage.”

Randy became dramatic, “What?!  Am I just a pair of hands?  I have a heart.  I have a soul!”

Babs sang Heart and Soul in a sultry manner.

I smiled, “We better finish quickly.  It seems Babs is enjoying her massage too much. ‘Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse among the nations, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.”’ (Zechariah 8:13).”

Polly added, “And here is another verse from Zechariah.  For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”’’ (Zechariah 11:6).”

Babs smiled, “That was a very good challenge tonight.  You both did quite well, but Polly won since she got more verses with two hands.”

I asked, “Great, but did we learn anything?”

Babs said, “Of course, we learned that hands can be used for evil or good.  God’s hands created everything.  Moses, with the help of Aaron and Hur raised his hands to the Lord.  The Psalms also talk about raising our hands, so why do we lower our heads and clasp our hands?”

I smiled, “It is a sign of submissiveness to God.  It shows humility before God.  It forms a physical model like the tax collector as compared to the proud Pharisee ‘To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”’ (Luke 18:9-14).”

Babs nodded, “You seem to always have an answer, Sweetie.”

I shrugged, “That is what tradition says, but I do not think posture matters as much as what is in the heart.  But thinking of that, are you about done, Randy?”

Randy nodded, “I have done some Swedish massage, Thai massage, Japanese massage, and Indian massage.  Your body is in great shape, Mrs. Dykstra.”

We went to the dining room and had a wonderful meal, after Babs changed clothes.  And strangely, the subject of hands never came up.  But they did ask about the sale of her production company.

Babs smiled, “I treated myself to a massage, but I have been meeting with Pink Lady and Amy G Dala.  I have investigated all that ill-gotten gain, and I will donate all the profits from those investments each year.  The rest will go to a college trust for our four grandchildren and maybe one more who we hope to adopt in about a year.  I do not want to make my grandchildren comfortable with money that was immorally obtained, but I want them to have a good education so that they can have successful careers on their own merit.”

After Randy broke down his equipment and packed it into the cases, I helped him take the stuff to the car.

When we were alone outside the garage where they parked, I asked, “Do you do sensual massage?”

Randy laughed, “I could not reconcile that line of work since the ladies get so overcome with arousal that they go after the therapist.  I have a plaque in my office that explains my stance on the subject if the subject comes up.  But since one of the disciplines of the therapy system that Naomi Yeggs developed is sexual therapy, I have this pamphlet with drawings and photos.  If you ask Babs to guide your hands to the exact spot, you might have a howling good time tonight.”

The next morning, a neighbor came by and asked if our little beagle was howling at the moon or if a coyote invaded the neighborhood.  I protested that it wasn’t our beagle, but I would keep an eye out for the coyote.  But the howling at the moon did not sound feasible.  It was not a full moon, and it was heavy cloud cover the night before.  But I have “no idea where the howling came from.”

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.

Here is Floyd Cramer with Heart and Soul.  Floyd was fantastic on the piano, but he had some singers sing the song starting about the halfway point.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.