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 was bored.  It was raining and she couldn’t do what she wanted to do.

This week Babs was preparing a relish tray, sandwiches, and lemonade.

I asked, “What are you doing?  That’s enough food for an army.”

Babs sighed, “Well, Harold, we have an army in our backyard, mowing the lawn.”

I shrugged, “But we pay them for their services.  Do we now have to feed them?”

Babs stopped for a moment.  Then she said, “Harold, don’t let me forget!  I have two gallon tubs of ice cream in the deep freezer.”

I smiled, “I better take it out now to soften.  My experience is that fresh from the freezer, it is hard to scoop.  But you still have not answered my question.”

Babs replied, “Harold, I was afraid these boys would already be busy with college stuff.  But they have been mowing our lawn all summer.  I would think that Tony would be doing it himself or hiring someone else.  College classes have already been going.  I wanted to say thank you.”

I laughed, “Okay, let’s throw a party then.”

Susana and Marika came in from the deck.  Marika asked, “Did someone say party?”

I sighed, “Babs has hoodwinked me, again.”

Babs sighed, “Harold, if you will simply go out on the deck, we can get started.”

I walked onto the deck.  Tony Painter and family were there.  Greta Grunge was there with Grace.  The ladies of the four boys doing the lawn were all there.  I shrugged, “So, Tony, is my grass the right length for the winter months?  ‘The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time,’ (Numbers 22:4).  I would hate to have it the wrong length and then you don’t come back again.”

Tony smiled, “We cut the grass to two inches.  If we get the typical October weather, we might mow one or two times more, but only if the grass grows more than a half inch.  I’m thinking one or two more times mowing the lawn.”

Babs growled, “Boys, don’t talk shop.  This is a party. ‘Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.’ (Deuteronomy 32:2).”

I smiled, “Babs, we need a healthy lawn.  I am making sure Tony has this under control.”

Tony laughed, “Harold, your lawn will be the best on the block.  You on the other hand, I am not so sure.  ‘Their people, drained of power, are dismayed and put to shame. They are like plants in the field, like tender green shoots, like grass sprouting on the roof, scorched before it grows up.’ (2 Kings 19:26).”

I laughed, “Babs, you even have Tony reciting Scripture.  ‘You will know that your children will be many, and your descendants like the grass of the earth.’ (Job 5:25).”

Babs groaned, “But, Harold, these friends won’t be here in the winter, or maybe most of them.  ’for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.’ (Psalm 37:2).  But in the Spring, they will be back. ‘The grasslands of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness.’ (Psalm 65:12).  At least, I pray that Harold’s yard is blessed, ‘May grain abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. May the crops flourish like Lebanon and thrive like the grass of the field.’ (Psalm 72:16).”

I smiled, “Okay, but why aren’t all four of these youngsters at college?”

A few said, “We are.”

Luke said, “Mr. Dykstra, Mrs. Dykstra wanted to have a party, and we wanted to get to know you two.  We have heard a lot about you.  But that being said, today is the only days that we do not have labs, and tomorrow, but T.R.U.S.T. has an away game this week.  We have no cheer leaders or football players in this crowd.  I hear you are a local mechanical engineering graduate.  Trey, Bubba, and I are taking fluid dynamics, mechanics, and thermodynamics.  Todd is a freshman.  He has chemistry and physics labs, but he is also taking mechanics of materials.  So, today and tomorrow are free in the late afternoon.  We already have our homework done.”

Harold smiled, “And what about the ladies?”

Susana said, “I have not had a break since last summer.  We have put our heads together to become Pam S.   I hope you get the Tracy Daily.  We are starting our comic strip called the Forlorn Four in January, first full week.  And I skipped my senior year to go to college with my friends.”

Marika said, “We have all been busy. ‘Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.’ (Ecclesiastes 9:10).  Susana is our age, but she was held back due to language issues.  So, she caught up with her high school credits.  Then because she is the artist among us four, she has done the most busy work.”

I asked, “What is Pam S.?”

Patty said, “Our first names.  Patty, Anna, Marika, and Susana.  We thought we should be Spasm, with Susana listed twice due to all the drawing that she does.  Marika fills the balloons with the dialogue.  Anna and I argue over the story line.  And we all four decide what each frame should look like.”

I asked, “What is the forlorn four all about?”

Marika smiled, “We were outcasts in high school.  We were invisible.  So, we started writing a storyline about being invisible, literally.  We are doing this to bring attention to those who fall through the cracks, and often are prey to bullying and cyberbullying.  Patty was Snaggletooth McCormick, but she now had contacts and her teeth are straightened.  Anna was overweight, but since she has been dating Bubba, she has drastically slimmed down.  Susana got the dummy tag for being held back in spite of being near the top in her class ever since.  And I am the athlete of the group, but because of my dark skin, elongated torso, and my height, people claimed that I was really a boy.  But Luke and I played in the mud together in Burkina Faso.  And Aunt Jemima may have thought she was getting us together, but it was God doing that.”

Babs scrunched her nose, “Bullying and cyberbullying?  Feeling like you are not seen?  ‘She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”’ (Genesis 16:13). ‘You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.’ (Psalm 139:1-3).  You are seen by your Heavenly Father.”

I shrugged, “May those bullies be like the grass on a roof.  ‘May they be like grass on the roof, which withers before it can grow;’ (Psalm 129:6).”

Babs giggled, “Which brings us back to Scripture about grass growing.  I had no idea there were so many references to grass growing in the Bible.”

Mary Jo sighed, “Why not?  The Israelites were shepherds, a lot of them were.  They related their livelihood to grass.  The prophecy against Moab in Isaiah 15. ‘The waters of Nimrim are dried up and the grass is withered; the vegetation is gone and nothing green is left.’ (Isaiah 15:6).”

Greta smiled, “But there will come a day when the desert blooms again.  ‘The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.’ (Isaiah 35:7).”

I smiled, “Thank you, Greta, but before we get there, we need to prepare for the plague, famine and sword. These prophecies are prevalent in Jeremiah and Ezekiel.  ‘How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. Moreover, the people are saying, ‘He will not see what happens to us.’ (Jeremiah 12:5).  ‘Even the doe in the field deserts her newborn fawn because there is no grass.’ (Jeremiah 14:5).”

Babs asked, “Now a doe deserting her fawn, that is harsh, but thinking of grass, didn’t Nebuchadnezzar eat grass? Yes.  Here it is. ‘He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like the ox; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and sets over them anyone he wishes.’ (Daniel 5:21).”

Bubba asked, “Anything in the New Testament?”

I said, “The feeding of the five thousand, which is in each gospel, was done in a grassy area, so that it would be easy for them to sit down.  But there are two references in Revelation.  ‘The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.’ (Revelation 8:7).”

Trey sighed, “Can I read the other one?  ‘They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.’ (Revelation 9:4).  I guess this is saying we need to get our house in order.”

I said, “Yes, Trey, we all need to look to Jesus.  He is the Way.  There is no other way.”

Babs laughed, “Harold, let’s end on a happy note.  ‘And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.’ (Isaiah 35:8-10).”

I snickered, “Babs, thank you.  There is still plenty of food.  And I think Joe and Grace want to show off a few dance moves.”

There was much laughter, well past the setting of the sun.

And as the boys were getting ready to leave, Bubba said, “Mr. Painter, thank you for setting up this party.  You said that the Dykstras had a way of turning a conversation into a Bible study, and it is much easier to understand when you sit at their feet.”

Tony said, “Yes, Bubba, I learn a lot just by talking to them.

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 have any Credits, but the Forlorn Four have been in a few short stories.  You can use the spy glass above to search of forlorn four.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.