Taste

We don't usually keep junk food around the house, and there's a reason why.  We tend to eat it.  The other day I had the munchies and convinced April to let me buy some jellied fruit slices and some Cheezits by encouraging her to buy some Skittles and Wheat Thins.  That way, no one gets left out.  Last week it was Oreos and Rocky Road Ice Cream.  I hadn't had junk food in so long, I tore into those snacks like a starving hog at the trough.  One taste wasn't enough, I wanted more.

The thought occurs to me that we are that way about a lot of things.

Lay's Potato Chips (or Doritos, or Cheetos, or Pringles, or Ruffles)...no one can eat just one.

There are some foods that are so delicious to me that I will want to keep eating them long after I'm full.

And when I'm thirsty, one taste of cool clear water will only whet my desire for more.  That's why I usually keep a half-gallon of water within reach.

The Bible talks about sin as if it was food.  Stolen bread, a snack sneaked into the mouth when no one is watching.  These taste pleasant, but they lead to the depths of hell.

Kisses are wonderful things, but they always leave you wanting more.  And kisses of the wrong kind lead one to a bitter end.

But the Bible also talks about the things of God as food.

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul, more precious than gold, and sweeter than honey.

Like a babe, desire the pure milk of the word.  Our nursing infant hates to be detached from that wonderful source of comfort and nourishment when he's hungry.

Jesus said, "I am the bread of life.  Eat of me, and you'll never go hungry, and whoever drinks of me will never thirst."

This morning I sat at the breakfast table with my Bible, my markers, and my son.  I meant to read a couple of Psalms; I ended up reading 5.  Then I turned to the Proverbs.  Then an Epistle.  Then the wife and baby were up, and my quiet time was over.  But it left me wanting more.  Even a morsel of truth stirs my appetite for a banquet of the Word.  And so it should be.

 

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;

Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

Psalm 34:8, NKJV

Simeon: Destiny

 

And Joseph and His mother marveled

at those things which were spoken of Him.

Then Simeon blessed them,

and said to Mary His mother,

"Behold, this Child is destined

for the fall and rising of many in Israel,

and for a sign which will be spoken against

(yes, a sword will pierce

through your own soul also),

that the thoughts of many hearts

may be revealed."

Luke 2:33-35, NKJV

Though Simeon had many duties, for many years he had lived with the promise of one destiny.  He had received from the Lord a revelation of his days, that he would not pass from this life before he had seen the fulfillment of God's promise to Israel of a Savior.  So on that autumn day when he encountered Joseph and Mary and the infant Jesus, it was the meeting of a lifetime, the culmination of an long-awaited appointment with God's purpose for him.  It was more than a chance encounter; it was his destiny.

Can you imagine what that must have been like for Simeon?  Taking the child in his aged arms, perhaps he cradled the savior to his chest.  Perhaps he bent his face low over the baby and let the luxurious whiskers of his long white beard tickle those cherubic cheeks.  Perhaps he caressed that tender forehead with lips dry from excitement, and perhaps a little holy fear.  Perhaps there was a gentle smile, even through a flood of tears.  Perhaps his pulse raced as his heart pounded inside his chest.  Perhaps his entire frame quaked with the knowledge that he was holding the Savior of the world.

And then the Word of the Lord came.

"This Child is destined..."

Whether or not Simeon realized this was the very son, the only begotten, of God, Mary and Joseph knew.  They had been told by an angel.  They already knew that their Child was destined.  Inspired utterance had already poured forth from the lips of Elizabeth, Zacharias, and Mary herself regarding the pre-born Offspring of the Almighty.  Angels sang destiny's great song over the hills of Bethlehem in celebration of His birth.  And shepherds woke a sleeping village to tell them their Savior had come.  That Jesus had a purpose in life was already clear.

Now came the details, perhaps Mary's first glimpse into the agony she would have to endure as her Son, God's Son, was first accepted, applauded, adulated, adored, and then abandoned, betrayed, and condemned to death.

"This Child is destined..."

What mother wouldn't appreciate assurance and direction from the Lord God Almighty regarding the future of her firstborn child?  But what if it wasn't what you expected?

He was destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel.  Cryptic, yes, but not a bad start.  And indeed, Jesus certainly brought low the proud and exalted the humble throughout His ministry.

He was destined to be a sign that would be spoken against.  Well of course, if He was the personification of God come into a world alienated from that Person, then surely some would speak out against Him.  After all, no one is liked by everyone.

Then came the parenthetical prophetic insert about the Mother--a sword will pierce through your own soul as well.  What?  A sword?  What's that supposed to mean?  Ominous apprehensions began to whirl in her young mind.  And thirty-three years later, as Jesus was abused, beaten, crucified, denigrated, scourged and pierced in so many ways, and finally impaled on a centurion's spear, she would fully realize what that sword was all about.

He was destined for such, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

But would she also understand that her Son was also the Word?  That He was the revelation of God to mankind, the necessary ransom paid by the Creator to redeem all of Creation?  And that Jesus Himself was the living Word of God, sharper than any two edged sword, that he would divide soul from spirit, bone from marrow, and reveal the deepest intentions of every heart?

This wasn't a negative word spoken over an unsuspecting child.  This was the revelation of God's destiny for His Only Begotten Son, a destiny that was done before Jesus was ever born.  Before there was need for an atoning sacrifice, Jesus was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.  Before there was a problem, God had the solution.  Before there was a fall, God provided forgiveness.  Before there was a sinner, God sent a Savior.

This was the destiny of Jesus Christ.  And a good one it was.

That's Right...My Family Tree Doesn't Fork

Here’s a nice little genealogical tangle to consider:

Richard Thayer was born 1562 in Gloucestershire England.  He married Ursula Alice Dimery, and they had several children, including Richard Thayer (1595) & Thomas Thayer (1596), both of whom their families to Braintree, Norfolk, Massachusetts, in 1630.

Another early settler of Braintree, Massachusetts was William Hayward and his wife Margery Knight.  Among their children were Huldah (1636), Samuel (1641), and William (1647).

Thomas Thayer was the father of Ferdinando Thayer (1625), who married Huldah Hayward in 1652.  They were the parents of Huldah (1657) and Isaac (1671).

Huldah Thayer married Jacob Aldrich (1652); their son Seth (1679), married his mother’s first cousin Deborah (1682), daughter of Samuel Hayward.  Seth & Deborah had a son Abel (1704)) who married his first cousin Elizabeth, daughter of his father’s brother David Aldrich.  As already mentioned, Seth & David Aldrich were sons of Jacob Aldrich & Huldah Thayer; Jacob Aldrich was the son of George Aldrich (1605) and brother to John Aldrich (1644), whom we will discuss in a moment.

Abel Aldrich was the father of Benjamin Aldrich.

Benjamin Aldrich was the father of George Aldrich.

George Aldrich was the father of Rhoda Aldrich (1799), who married Isaac Heath (1779), son of Peter Heath & Abigail Crawford.  Isaac & Rhoda had three or four daughters—Tamar (1818), Judith (1822), Mary (1832) and Celina (1843).

Peter Heath (1742) was the son of Nathaniel Heath (1708) & Sarah Stevens (1705), who were second cousins, their grandfathers being brothers Josiah Heath (1651) & John Heath (1643), sons of Bartholomew Heath (1615), a native of Naezing, Essex, England and early settler of Haverhill, Massachusetts.

And Peter Heath’s sister Abigail (1776) married Ebenezer Huckins (1775), a descendant of the Huckins, Burnham, Thomas, Goddard, Edgerly, Whidden, and Ault families who were among New Hampshire’s earliest settlers.  Two of Ebenezer & Abigail’s sons were Moses (1814) and William (1815).  Peter & Abigail Heath and Ebenezer & Abigail Huckins moved their families from lower New Hampshire to Stanstead, Quebec, Canada, about 1825.  In 1835, Moses Huckins married Tamar Heath; after Tamar’s death in 1853, Moses married her sister Mary.  William Huckins married Judith Heath.

Moses Huckins fathered 17 children, 7 with Tamar and 10 with Mary.  He moved his family from Canada to Bureau County, Illinois, about 1855, where his son Sherman Alberta Huckins (1865) was born.  Sherman worked for the railroad in Kansas, and there he married Phoebe Louisa Vansell in 1892.  Their son Cleon Gerold Huckins (1905) met Laura Gertrude Rhodes (1903) while cowboying in Western Oklahoma and married her in 1927.  They moved to Hutchinson County, Texas, where their first child  Gerold Edward Huckins (1929) was born.  Gerold married Naomi Joy Bigham in 1950, and my mother Donna Gail Huckins was born the following year.  Donna married Bryan Stafford in 1969, and I am their only child, Casey Lynn Stafford (1972).

In 2013, I married April Lanae Paschen, and we have two sons—Conlan Ray & Joseph Bryan. 

April (1988) is the only child of Eldon Ray Paschen (1947) and Nancy Ann Harris (1947), who married in 1972 in Ardmore, Carter, Oklahoma.

Nancy was the daughter of William Guy Harris (1897) & Delta Malissa Matilda Smith (1909).

Guy Harris was the son of George Roswell Harris (1869), born in Shasta County, California.

George Harris was the son of Jackson Harris (1836), a native of Canada, and Susan Cheney Thayer (1836).  Remember that Thayer name?  Well hold on, and I’ll come back to it.

Jackson Harris was the son of Nathan Kendrick Harris (1799) and Orpha Aldrich (1803).

Orpha Aldrich was the daughter of George Aldrich (1770), who was the son of George Aldrich (1738), who was the son of Benjamin Aldrich (1684), who was the son of John Aldrich (1644) whom I mentioned earlier.  John was the brother of my ancestor Jacob Aldrich (1652), which makes me a 9^th Cousin, once removed from my wife April.

But wait!  There’s more!

Susan Cheney Thayer ( 1836) was the daughter of Asa Thayer (1794), who was the son of Joel Thayer (1760) & Susannah Cheney (1760).  Joel Thayer was the son of Samuel Thayer (1713), who was the son of Isaac Thayer (1671).  Now I’ve mentioned Isaac before; go back to the beginning of this story.  My wife’s g⁶ grandfather was a brother to my g⁹ grandmother, making us related again, 8^th Cousins, three times removed.  And Isaac Thayer married his own first cousin Mary Hayward (1680), who was the daughter of William Hayward, brother to Isaac’s mother Huldah.

But there’s more.  Susannah Cheney, wife of Joel Thayer, was the daughter of Wales Cheney (1732), who was the son of William Cheney (1700) and Joanna Thayer (1706).  Yes, there are more Thayers.

Joanna Thayer was the daughter of Nathaniel Thayer (1680) who married his second cousin Sarah Wales (1680).  Nathaniel was the son of Nathaniel Thayer (1658), who was the son of Richard Thayer (1625).  Sarah was the daughter of Joanna Faxon, who was the daughter of Thomas Faxon and Deborah Thayer (1634).  Richard Thayer & Deborah Thayer Faxon were the children of Richard Thayer (1595), and we’re back where we started.

So 400 years after these families came to America, the many intermarried lines intermarried once again in April Paschen and Casey Stafford, making our sons descended four times each from Richard & Ursula Thayer, William & Margery Hayward, and Bartholomew & Hannah Heath, and three times from George Aldrich and Katherine Seald.  Of course, since it happened twelve (or thirteen, fourteen, or fifteen) generations ago, we’re talking about 4 (or 3) among 2048 (or 4096, 8192, or 16,384) ancestors. 

So no chance of a chromosomal mix up in the shallow end of the gene pool.

Thank God.

And don’t get me started on the Clarkes of Rhode Island.  That’s another blog for another day (which I’ve already done before).