Dear Friends:
Anybody Seen Spring???
I have been hearing on the news that some parts of the “lower 48” states have been having record warm spells…cherry blossoms are out in their gorgeous array around the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC… but here in Alaska, that is only a distant dream! It was about zero again this morning following another gnarly blizzard the night before!! About the only blossom at our house is on a Christmas Cactus that, like most of us up here, is confused about what season it is. I sure hope that warm sunny days come soon but that the snow melts at a reasonable pace or there will be serious flooding in some areas. Right now though, I am eating oranges and drinking pomegranate juice like crazy to stave off scurvy!!
One of the highlights of living in Alaska each year is the Iditarod Sled Dog race from Wasilla to Nome. We watched the highlights and followed the race online and, as always, I came away with an even greater appreciation of the men and women and dogs that make that grueling run of over 1000 miles in the worst arctic weather you can imagine. They are really tougher than nails. This year, it had an additional interest factor with three generations of the Seavey family competing….Grandpa Dan Seavey managed to finish the race…Dan’s son ,Mitch Seavey, who has won the event before and finished near the top…and this year Dallas Seavey, Mitch’s son, won first place! Marveen was an avid follower of the race I think, in part, because a few years back she had been able to drive a team of dogs before that belonged to her life-long friend, Rita, up in Fairbanks. She said it was an unforgettable experience. There were a few times when I’d wake up in the wee hours of the morning and find Marveen checking for updates on some of the teams.
If you have followed Alaska news, there was a big-bad-boom a few weeks ago when the roof fell in at Abbott Loop Community Church in Anchorage. They are still trying to determine the exact cause but most feel it was because of the snow load from record snowfall. Thankfully, no one was hurt! I have not heard what the plan is as far as rebuilding the church, but it was/is a mess. If you are interested, you can go to the Abbott Loop Community Church website for pictures and updates. There have been a number of buildings that have collapsed this winter because of the sheer weight of the accumulated snow. We were blessed to have four guys from the church come over and shovel off our garage and porch roofs that seemed to be the most laden with snow. The upper story of the main part of the house is a stronger and newer structure and hopefully will be OK.
All that being said, if you listen really close, I mean really close…you can hear the big king salmon out there in the Gulf of Alaska whispering to themselves, “Let’s go home!” To that I say, “Ya’all just come on home, we’ll have a party for ya!”
As usual, and especially at this time of year, the percentage of clients who can’t pay for counseling services increases so the contributions from CFM supporters is even more important to make up the difference so we can keep current on the office rent and expenses. So, if the Lord lays it on your heart to send contributions to CFM, they are most appreciated.
I have been in contact with the pastor of a church in Texas and we are zeroing in on the dates for a men’s retreat in November. Since high school football in Texas is a major part of their town’s life, the pastor said they would try to set the retreat dates during the “bye” week for the local team. I wish I could be there to attend one of the games as I understand they are major events in these smaller Texas towns.
God bless you. Wayne
I need a new address book! Oh, I have a new one that is filled out about halfway through the “C’s”. It is a nice leather-bound number with a magnetic flap to keep it closed…but, I just can’t seem to bring myself to update the new one with current additions and deletions. The addition part is not the problem but the deletion part that is so hard especially for the people I have known and loved that are no longer getting mail on Planet Earth. How in the world do you delete your mom’s or dad’s name from your address book? It is a dilemma that I have been struggling with for months…nah, for years.
The other day, I decided to do an unscientific poll to see if young people today even keep address books. I questioned a grand total of two people. I already know my wife has one as hers is even more riddled with scratch outs and address changes than mine is. My survey consisted of a friendly and efficient waitress at the Duck Inn where I occasionally have lunch. The other person I asked about it was the afternoon barista at Cups espresso stand in Kenai where I often stop for a hot chocolate for the road. Interestingly, both of the ladies, probably in their twenties, said that they didn’t even have an address book…they just use their cell phones for texting and that they only write real paper letters to their grandmas.
My old black 4”X6” address book is to me a veritable treasure chest of history written in names, addresses and phone numbers. I have laughed at myself many times that I just never have been able to remember my mom’s new address where she moved after my dad died and she sold the farm. Perhaps that is because I was grown up and long gone from home when she moved. I do know that Rt. 3 Box 123, Sedro Woolley, WA 98284 is still tattooed to my memory and every time I visit my old home town I notice that the old battered mailbox is still standing right by the city limits sign on the west side of town. I see that our kids have multiple entries as they have upgraded to nicer houses over the years. And, amazingly, there are even some entries for people that have had the same mailing address for the past 40 years.
In my old address book I have two alphabetical sections. The oldest goes back to the 70’s and then I added a new A-Z section on a round trip flight from Alaska to Washington, DC. I made it to the “S’s” in the newer addition. To find the T-Z addresses I have to go to the older section. Am I a procrastinator or what??
Before I started writing this article I glanced through both sections of my battered and falling apart address book and made several observations. On the bright side, there are new additions of friends and family for which I am so thankful. Then, there is the sad part where there are some folks I have just lost touch with, others who have died or gotten divorced and changed names, and some where one spouse has died and the other is still living. There are names in my book that have been friends of mine for most all of my life or at least my adult life. Priceless memories are brought to mind at just looking at their names.
I also noticed that there are a few names in there that hardly another living soul in my circle of friends and acquaintances would have even a clue as to who those people are. For instance, I doubt that anyone reading this article for the North Kenai Chapel monthly newsletter would recognize the name, Serena Keith.
Then, one day Serena asked if I would drive her to Soldotna to a chiropractic appointment since she had started having severe pain between her shoulder blades. I will never forget how she would cry in pain every time we’d hit a frost heave or pothole in the road. We finally arrived in Soldotna and I helped her creep inch by inch into the doctor’s office. After an hour or so the doctor came out and informed me that Serena needed to be admitted to the hospital ASAP. What he had discovered is that that little saint had very advanced bone cancer in her shoulders, chest and spine. After several months of treatment in the hospital, they moved her to the Wesleyan Home, a nursing home, to live out the rest of her short life. I will never forget how Marveen (who would soon become my wife) and I used to go visit her in that dark little room with full intent to cheer her up and encourage her. It never failed though, that when we’d leave her room, we were the ones who ended up being encouraged. The day I officiated for her funeral brought with it a definite mixed bag of emotions. While we were very sad to lose such a valiant warrior against the disease that took her life, she left such a legacy of joy and love for life and the Lord that you couldn’t help but rejoice with her that she was then pain-free in the presence of Jesus. As you can tell, she left an indelible impact on my life that lingers more than twenty years later. How can I even think of deleting her name from, or even consider, tossing that old address book?
Why did I tell you all about little Serena Keith??? The reason is that I want all of you who read this article to know that each of you are also in that old address book or the new one being slowly put together. And, like the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 1:3-6 (J.B. Phillips Translation): I thank God for you Christians at Philippi ( North Kenai…addition mine) whenever I think of you. My constant prayers for you are a real joy, for they bring back to my mind how we have worked together for the Gospel from the earliest days until now. I feel sure that the one who has begun his good work in you will go on developing it until the day of Jesus Christ…I thank God for each of you.
God bless you…and come quickly springtime!!
Pastor Wayne