Spring Message

For my message this month, I want to write about wisdom and to share with each of you an article that was written about my Grandmother Nannie June Rackley that appeared in the Neighbor Newspapers in the late 1970’s. My Maw Rackley was born on June 2, 1891 to H. J. Freeman and Sarah Morgan Freeman. She passed away on April 30, 1980, at the age of 89. When I read this article, it reminded me that times and things have changed so much down through the years. It makes me to realize that times have not always been as good as they are now. Yet, we take so much for granted and forget what our Grandparents encountered during their life’s span. I want to encourage you, as you read this message of what Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” “A CENTURY’S CHANGE – AS YEARS PASS, WISDOM STAYS” Mrs. Warner S. Rackley says people in Paulding County and their way of life have changed considerably since she was a young girl at the turn of the century. Mrs. Rackley was born in Paulding County in 1891 and worked her fair share of the chores on the family farm. “We worked in the fields from dawn to dark with only a small break for lunch.” Mrs. Rackley recalls. “My father would use the mule and I would take the horse and we’d plow the fields,” she said. “People were much more self-sufficient in those days.” Mrs. Rackley says, “We made or grew the things we needed, we didn’t get much from the stores. We had homemade lye soap, quilted all the covers for the beds and made our own clothes,” she said. “We did most of our own doctoring with remedies like sassafras tea, roots and herbs for different ailments.” Mrs. Rackley continued. “I remember for the croup you’d swallow three or four drops of kerosene and that would cure it by the next day,” she added. “We were married at my dad’s house by a justice of the peace,” said Mrs. Rackley. “My husband passed away in 1952, but he was a good husband and father and a wonderful provider for his family,” she added. “We have nine children and they are all living and I see them often,” she said. “My husband kept the children well fed and cut their hair and I made all the clothing including their underwear when they were young and I would do the wash one day and iron and patch clothes the next,” Mrs. Rackley said. Mrs. Rackley said washing clothes was a laborious, time consuming task in those days. “You used a one-by-four piece of wood called a “battling stick” to beat the mud out of the clothes, then they were boiled in lye soap strong enough to eat the skin off your knuckles,” she said. “After boiling them you then had to go back and rinse them out and hang the up,” she added. Neighbors were closer in those days, according to Mrs. Rackley. She said that people were more concerned for each other in those days. “We shared more activities with neighbors, and we knew and loved them all,” she said. “The neighbors would get together for quilting bees, or to help with an emergency or to help with a problem,” Mrs. Rackley said. Christmas was far different from today, Mrs. Rackley says. “About a week before Christmas each year my brother would go into the woods and cut down a pine and we would decorate it with tissue paper and popcorn,” she said. “Christmas wasn’t such a big religious occasion,” Mrs. Rackley said, “but there was more religion in our daily lives. We had grace before every meal and read the Bible,” she added. Mrs. Rackley remembers getting just one Christmas toy during her years as a child. “I got a little doll with a head made of china and the body was filled with sawdust,” she added. “I can still remember seeing it sticking out of my stocking,” she says , “I bet I made that doll a hundred dresses,” she chuckled with the memory. (End of Article) Yes, this message is entirely different from any other message I have written down through the years of this ministry, but it reminded me of who I am, my family history and most of all to appreciate the blessings I have today. My Maw Rackley was a strong Christian woman and was never ashamed to share her love for the Lord with others. She taught her nine children well and taught them that hard work was good for them and how they could be an inspiration to others. Today, we are living too much in the “fast lane” of life and the sad part is that we are not leaving behind many “Precious Memories” for our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to recall of how life was for us. Today, we are focused on everything but what really matters in life. Yes, we all need wisdom in knowing that God is still God and I want to encourage each of you today to just remember, “As Years Pass, Wisdom Stays.” Rev. Don Rackley