SOMETIMES, EVEN IN ALASKA, "IT IS WHAT IT IS" (August 21 - September 3, 2017)

                                                                  (Eklutna Lake State Park)

After dropping the Bittenbenders off at the Anchorage airport, Sherry and I returned to the Langley Lodge at the Nazarene Camp Grounds in Big Lake.  We had thoroughly enjoyed our few days with these long time friends but I now found myself struggling with a nasty head and chest cold.

After a day long outing to Thunderbird Falls and Lake Eklutna State Park, where we hiked and
enjoyed a beautiful sunny day, I returned to the lodge to pretty much spend the next week inside looking out.  Oh yes, I was looking out on the awesome view of Alaska but didn't dare venture into what became cool and rainy weather.  Sleepless nights filled with heavy coughing and labored breathing and day after day of just plain being miserable followed.  I continually reminded myself (and the Lord) that I was soon to head to Cordova, Alaska to begin a Revival and that I needed to get better.  There were other guests in the Lodge who joined with me in prayer, giving me comfort, medicines, and encouragement.  They included a retired pastor and wife from Ohio, a lay couple from Pennsylvania, and a wife of a pastor from Hawaii.

Even with being sick, the time at the Alaska Nazarene Camp Grounds was just what we needed and as we boarded the Alaskan Airline flight to Cordova I was feeling some better and excited to return to the off the roads fishing village had I had grown to love.

Cordova, Alaska is a wonderful place, hemmed in by the ocean   on one side and the mountains on the other three.  It really is like being on an island.  Rev. Steve Leppert met us at the airport and we headed into town.  In our prior visits to Cordova we had had wonderful weather with sunny skies and warm days.  Now, as we exited the truck, we were greeted by rain and cold.  The lovely apartment that the church has was warm and inviting but the weather....not so much!  It rained every day and the sun took a vacation while we were there.  No great fishing on the river because it was too fast, too high, and murky.

The week end services were times of renewal and fellowship and my symptoms eased so that I could get two straight nights of solid sleep.  When we left, in the rain, on Monday morning I was feeling much better and ready for the next stage of our Alaskan adventure.

Reflections

Sometimes our plans, our dreams, don't turn out the way we had envisioned them.  When planning our two and a half week stay in Big Lake we had planned to use it as a base to take some day long excursions into the Alaskan wilderness. They were to be days of exploration and rest.  That was the plan.  However a "bug" got in the way.  Was I happy to be "laid up" and somewhat miserable during this time?  No!  But what I came to realize was that not only "it is what it is" but that the Lord's timing is always right.

Had the weather been even a little better in Big Lake or Cordova I would have been tempted to be out running around or fishing (even in a light rain) but I was forced to stay in and get better.  I could have been sick during the Revival but the Lord provided a place of restoration and healing that enabled me to be ready to serve.  Even the timing of our exit from Cordova was perfect for the next day it was not only raining heavily but the wind was roaring off the ocean at 100 M.P.H. (someone said: "When the wind blows 100 m.p.h. in the lower 48 it is a big deal, here in Cordova it's Tuesday.)

And if I had to be laid up for awhile, I guess this isn't a bad view to have out the window.  Now it's on to Soldotna, Alaska for about a month.

                                                 (Big Lake, Alaska)