The old Beaver float plane roared to life as full throttle powered the battle-scarred hulk across Lake Hood in Anchorage, Alaska. Jack Barber of Alaskan Air Taxi expertly tilted the plane and one float, then the other, pulled up and off the lake’s surface as daintily as a fluttering dragonfly.
We then struck west across Cooks Inlet, over the tidal flats and thru the magnificent glacier-studded Alaskan mountain range. We refueled at Port Allsworth and then climbed back to a cruising altitude above the famous emerald green water of Lake Clark.
One hundred miles northwest just past the Stoney River we found them. From above, they looked like strings of brown and white ants funneling thru the pass between two mountains. Their deep furrowed trails looked like narrow highways cutting the tundra, proof of their ancestral migration. There were thousands of them.
Jack circled around the tiny mountain lake and went in hot; an aerial art known only to veteran Alaskan bush pilots. Caribou scattered from both shorelines as the Beaver floats shattered the lakes’ mirror surface as we dug deep into the gin clear water.
From the pontoon I threw my pack, bow and gear up on the bank. Jack yelled atop the motor noise, “Okay Pal, see you in ten days!” I stood there on the lakes’ edge in the drizzly evening mist as Jack throttled the engine and once again broke from the water, circled around and as he passed overhead “waved goodbye” with the plane’s wings and then lined out on a course back to Lake Clark. I listened as the distant drone of the departing plane slowly dissipated to total quiet.
Later, I snuggled into my warm sleeping bag. The only noise was the light rain on my tent and the occasional clicking of the caribou hooves passing by outside. I fell asleep with a smile on my face. I was alone.
In today’s busy world it’s difficult to be alone….really alone. Actually, many people are uncomfortable to be completely alone for very long. But, did you know that God recognizes our solitude, and He comes closer and our relationship with Him becomes more intimate when we are alone? Often the distractions of everyday life prevent us from focusing on and devoting time to the relationship that God wishes to have with us.
One of the most familiar verses regarding being alone with God is Psalms 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”
Another verse is Mark 1: 23-13, “The Spirit sent Jesus out into the desert and He was in the desert 40 days, being tempted. He was with the wild animals and the Angels attended to Him.
I Kings 19: 9, 12. Elijah went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him…a gentle whisper.
Solitude, being alone, is important for our spiritual growth. Perhaps next time you are alone in the wild, you should recognize the voice of God whispering to you.
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