Alaska in December is quite surreal. The sun finally decides to rise around 9:30 in the morning and sets at 3:00. Her arc in the sky never gets much higher than the tree tops, casting incredibly long shadows all over this amazing land. It truly is the last, great wilderness left on earth. From our bed and breakfast just north of Anchorage, you could make out Denali with the naked eye, only a mere 300 miles or so away.
Our first morning found us heading north to Talkeetna airport where we met up with Paul Claus, a legend in his own time. Paul is Alaska’s version of Paul Bunyon. Not only is he the best bush pilot alive, but he runs the ultra exclusive resort Ultima Thule, catering to the extremely rich and famous. A week at his resort located 100 miles from the nearest road in St. Elias National Park costs a mere $5,600 per person. Paul’s specialty is flying. He owns several small bush planes used to fly his high end clients all over the wilderness, dropping them in remote places that literally no man has been before.
On this cold December morning, Paul agreed to fly me and my colleagues around the Colony Glacier. We boarded Paul’s “Otter”, his favorite bush plane that seats around 7 people comfortably. We took off and soared out over the wilderness, spotting moose, dall sheep and various other winter animals. It was incredible. Paul’s ability to maneuver his craft was unbelievable. We landed on the glacier, got out and walked on the bluest shade of ice I’d ever seen. It was spectacular. Paul then took us even further into the unknown where we landed on a frozen lake surrounded by moose. We picnicked next to our furry friends and built a bonfire right on the frozen lake.
As we boarded the plane to head back to Talkeetna, I noticed several large black trash bags stashed away at the rear of the plane. I got out of my seat and walked up to Paul in the captain’s seat and said, “what’s up with the black bags in the back?” Paul turned around and said, “those bags may save our lives. They’re in here in case of a white-out. Sometimes when I am flying up here, the conditions get so bad that you can’t tell up from down, right from left. You are flying blind. If that happens, I drop these bags out the window and watch where they land, if they go up I know I am flying upside down and headed for disaster, if they go down I know I am on the right trajectory. The bags show me where I need to go…”
Life is the same. Without a focal point out in the distance, nothing makes sense. We are flying blind. The beauty of looking at life from a biblical perspective is that we already know where we are going, even if sometimes we feel lost. The end of the story has already been leaked. God has promised that no matter how bad things look, no matter our circumstances, He will be victorious in the end. We have our focal point in times of trial and indecision. His kingdom will come on earth as it now is in heaven.
