Old time Alaskans tell me that fireweed indicates the change from summer to winter.  All summer, the fireweed can be seen as a timer.  At first, the bottom blooms, with a long stem of blossoms yet to come.  As the summer wears on, you see the first blossoms die as the blooms creep higher up the stem.  When the last blossom blooms, there is seven weeks till winter.  Or the first snowfall.  Tradition is a little uncertain on this one.  Anyways.

Between summer and winter is the prettiest season: fall.  All the leaves on the trees turn yellow, adding drama to the mountainsides.  The fireweed turns to a firey red, and all the tundra comes alive with fall colors.  Termination dust (snow) starts in the tops of the mountains, creeping its way lower and lower until there is snow on the ground. 

How do I know all these things will happen?  Because it happens every year.  I was reading somewhere (I'm pretty sure it was CS Lewis, but not positive) that God created the changing of seasons because humans need both consistency and change.  We find security in knowing what is coming, but when we things don't change, we get stuck in a rut.  Therefore, with the constant change of seasons, we have security in knowing what is coming, while things are constantly in motion around us.  God created us with those needs and He created the world to fill them. 

The glorification of "busy"

As I drug myself out of bed this morning, I was already thinking through the things I need to do in the next couple days.  Work, youth group with the girls, pack, work, head to town, plan trip to town.... not to mention my neglected blog that I hardly think about anymore.  I was stressed before I even drug myself out from under the covers. 

As the summer season slips away and fall comes at us full force, I think the village as a whole hopes to catch their breath.  But it never happens.  Winter activities start up: Bible studies, Awana, prayer meetings, school activities, plotting pranks, craft nights, and regular social gatherings keep us going non-stop.  It seems like the action never stops around here. 


Many of these activities involve relationship building, which is great.  Living in a small community definitely gives us opportunities aplenty to practice relational living and "doing life together" as one of my favorite pastors calls it.  Oftentimes I will come home to a pile of laundry that still needs to be done and a room that I was supposed to clean, and ignore it for a more exciting social opportunity. 



I know I am not alone in this feeling of "busy."  I can only imagine how much more busy the people living in town are, who have more friends, commutes, gym memberships and text messaging to keep them even more busy.  Just being in amongst the hustle and bustle of a bunch of people makes me feel the need to GO GO GO every time I visit town.

After the socially acceptable, "hi, how are you?" "Good how are you?" "good" interaction, the next commonly asked question is, "how have you been?"  It seems like everyone's standard answer is "Busy!  Just really busy..."  I take pride in my activities.  I feel complete when my schedule is so full that I can't stop for an evening to drop by a friend's house just to visit for a little while, or invite one of the high school girls over to make cookies. 

I guess its nothing new.  Psalms 46 addresses the chaos of life, and especially what I tend to miss in my day to day busyness.  I've copy/pasted the whole thing, underlining the text that I need to work harder to put into practice.  I'm sure I am not the only one who could use some improvement in this area! 

Psalm 46
1 God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.^[c]

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

⁷ The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

⁸ Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields^[d] with fire.
¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; 

    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

¹¹ The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

life on earth and corrosion

One of the outside (not owned by my company) planes that we maintain is an old DeHavilland Beaver.  Produced in the 50s, they were built to be a bush plane.  There are a few around here that are well maintained, making them a dream machine to work on and see flying.  The one we get to work on was operated in Hawaii for many years, flying in and out of salt water.  Corossive environments such as that are detrimental to aircraft structures, and extreme measures are required to keep them safe. 

That got me thinking about life as a Christian.  Growing up, I often dreamed about a point of maturity where the Christian walk will be easier.  As if there is a point where I will be so tight with God, that I don't even entertain distractions.  But as I have grown up, I am realizing the case will never be.  I think even in Heaven we will be growing and building our relationships with God.  Sure the sin nature will be gone, so it probably will be easier.  But that's not the point I am going for here. 

As I was pondering why it is so hard to maintain a relationship with God, I thought about the world in which I live.  I realized that the problem isn't just me being bad at relationships, its the environment, kind of like float planes in salt water.  So what do I do with this information?  Do I just let my plane sit in the harbor and rot?  Or do I drag it onto shore, spending hours washing it off with fresh water, inspecting to make sure the paint is keeping the metal from being exposed, and coat all hardware with a rust-inhibiting chemical? 

Do I accept the environmental hazards, and let my relationship with Christ fall victim to harsh conditions, or do I see the challenge, and take extra precaution to protect myself from the world? 

If you know me at all, you probably know which option I strive to achieve.  It's just comforting to me to be able to identify why it is difficult :)