WALKING IN THE LIGHT
Well, this was in 1968, during one of our visits to "Tante" Mackie's place in Hackettstown, N.J. She was my father's sister. We used to spend a week there during the summer months, or during the Thanksgiving time, or just a "weekend getaway." "Tante" Mackie worked for Western Electric in NYC, and spent the weekends in Hackettstown with her little dog "Ingaborg," whom she called lovingly "Inky." When she retired from Western Electric, she moved there permanently.
The Musconecong River flowed in front of her little house. The road at that time was not paved, and there was white gravel for her front yard. At times, the Fish Hatchery would come and stock the river with trout, and that would attract fishermen from all over. Mackie herself was a "fisherlady, a photographer, and a painter" as well as a mechanical drawing expert.
It was during one of my visits to Mackie's place with Mom and Dad that we planned an "early morning fishing trip" to the swimming hole at the end of the road. We all got up early around 5 AM. I put on my "Sock-it-to-Me" T-Shirt, a reminder of the TV program "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," and Mackie, me, and Dad set out down the dirt road to the swimming hole, with fishing poles and a tackle box.
Mackie was carrying one of those old-time heavy lanterns, those used with dry-cell batteries. The lantern put forth a strong white beam of light in front of us. To be exact, the beam was pointed to our feet walking along the dirt road. My dad told me;
"Jimmy, keep your feet in the light. As long as you can see your feet in the light, you'll be safe"
Without the light, we might not have seen where we were going, yet we had the light coming from Mackie's lantern. This reminds me of 1 John 1:7, which reads:
"If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
Indeed, that morning we had some good fellowship; Mackie, Dad, and me. Jesus, of course, was in our midst. We didn't catch anything, but we still had a good time. The WORD of God is our light and our guide to daily living. May His LIGHT be our guide to keep our footsteps firm so we won't trip and fall.
Me and "Tante Mackie" on that day so long ago.

Well, this was in 1968, during one of our visits to "Tante" Mackie's place in Hackettstown, N.J. She was my father's sister. We used to spend a week there during the summer months, or during the Thanksgiving time, or just a "weekend getaway." "Tante" Mackie worked for Western Electric in NYC, and spent the weekends in Hackettstown with her little dog "Ingaborg," whom she called lovingly "Inky." When she retired from Western Electric, she moved there permanently.
The Musconecong River flowed in front of her little house. The road at that time was not paved, and there was white gravel for her front yard. At times, the Fish Hatchery would come and stock the river with trout, and that would attract fishermen from all over. Mackie herself was a "fisherlady, a photographer, and a painter" as well as a mechanical drawing expert.
It was during one of my visits to Mackie's place with Mom and Dad that we planned an "early morning fishing trip" to the swimming hole at the end of the road. We all got up early around 5 AM. I put on my "Sock-it-to-Me" T-Shirt, a reminder of the TV program "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," and Mackie, me, and Dad set out down the dirt road to the swimming hole, with fishing poles and a tackle box.
Mackie was carrying one of those old-time heavy lanterns, those used with dry-cell batteries. The lantern put forth a strong white beam of light in front of us. To be exact, the beam was pointed to our feet walking along the dirt road. My dad told me;
"Jimmy, keep your feet in the light. As long as you can see your feet in the light, you'll be safe"
Without the light, we might not have seen where we were going, yet we had the light coming from Mackie's lantern. This reminds me of 1 John 1:7, which reads:
"If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
Indeed, that morning we had some good fellowship; Mackie, Dad, and me. Jesus, of course, was in our midst. We didn't catch anything, but we still had a good time. The WORD of God is our light and our guide to daily living. May His LIGHT be our guide to keep our footsteps firm so we won't trip and fall.
Me and "Tante Mackie" on that day so long ago.

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