Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

• Psalm 23:1

For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

• 1 Timothy 6:7-8

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
    never will I forsake you.”

• Hebrews 13:5

When I eat, I have to watch how much my portion size is.  My thyroid is dead (radioactive Iodine treatment due to Grave’s Disease).  I do not get that sensation when the stomach starts to expand, and the body says that you have had enough.  I feel the food not going all the way down.  Thus, my signal is when I have had too much to eat.

When it comes to my writing, I was nearly five weeks ahead of schedule on my writing when I took a trip to Tennessee about five months ago.  I was there more than a week, busy every day with graduations, concerts, etc.  I had to get back in a hurry due to a scheduled procedure, but then I came back with a sinus infection and had to postpone the procedure.

But with travel and then getting sick, I was about two and a half weeks ahead of schedule.  I worked hard, once I started feeling minimally better, and I worked up to near three-weeks ahead of schedule.  But then, I would feel tired and lose a day or two.

I prayed and asked God if three weeks was enough.  A couple of years ago, I lost a full three weeks due to medical procedures.  I did not want to get into the mode of staying up late to make sure I had something scheduled for tomorrow.  I have not missed a day for over 3000 days (late May 2018, before my wife started having medical troubles).

But before I finished praying, I started laughing.  God had basically said that He knew what I needed better than I did.

The one area that I thought I had control of was my finances.  I heard an ad recently that this financial advisor group would talk to you about securing your retirement if you have as little as $100,000 in disposable cash.  I laughed.  I had never seen that much money in all our accounts put together… ever.

And the low five-digits of total assets will have to be enough when I have to move next year.

Can you call yourself a Christian when your retirement depends on making a retired person, a veteran homeless?  She owns the house.  She can.  And I would feel guilty if I was the one who deprived her of her retirement.

But I think part of my inability to concentrate and press through on goals is that I really do not want to move.  Sure, I will be there for all the concerts and graduations, but I get sick when the temperature gets into the mid-70s.  And they had a week of 100+ temperatures with high humidity – and they lost power due to the electrical overload.

But God says not to worry.  He knows what is best.  My son is having difficulties: neurological and financial.  I think I need to go down there to help.

And God is good at meeting our needs.

We are thinking of early next summer.

Any prayers are welcome.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.