Sunset in Juneau

Tonight, Sheryl took a drive for a little while by ourselves. It was about 9:30 and the sun was getting ready to set. It has been raining all day and it had slacked up and the ceiling had risen a little. We turned right out of the driveway and went down about 10 miles until the road ended. Along the way we stopped at this boat dock. From the dock I took a picture that to me tells it all about life in Juneau Alaska. It was of the sunset. The sun was between a layer of clouds and reflected off the water as much as it did the clouds. In the picture was a single boat, moored out in the channel alone. You could see parts of the mountains on the other side, but not all of them. The fog was rolling in on the channel and pretty soon, the whole picture would be blocked out by the fog.

To me, the boat represents isolation and independence. Here in Alaska, you will have to learn to deal with isolation on many levels. At the same time, you will have to maintain a streak of independence from others if you are to survive. But at the same time you will also have to have certain interdependence if you want to survive also. So that line is a fine line to walk.

The sunset is long coming. It seems like it takes forever for it to go down. In reality, it does. It will actually rise at 4:30 tomorrow morning. The sunset caught between the cloud layers reflected light off the water as well as the clouds. It was very diffused and very light even though it wasn’t focused. But it illuminated the clouds and the mountains enough that you could at least see part of them across the way. It just represents the vastness of the outdoors along with the beauty. We have to learn to enjoy the outdoors in the midst of adverse weather conditions. There is too much to do to let rain stop us from enjoying the day.

That was never more evident than today. It rained almost all day, but we did go to the glacier. There we hiked about 1.5 – 2 miles. Sure we got wet, but we were dressed for it. The hike was well worth the sight of a beautiful glacier. It’s the first one that I have ever seen, and I was amazed at how blue the ice was. I guess it’s because of all the minerals. Anyway it was a sight to behold. I can’t imagine how much better the sight was when Lisa and Hernan saw it last week in the sun. Certainly we have had our lives affected by such glorious beauty. As I stood looking at the glacier and then at the sunset tonight, I knew that I could easily live here despite the weather. Of course I want, it is too far away from what God has called us to do. But in another life, if I was younger like Lisa and Hernan, maybe so. I certainly understand the captivation that this land has on them.

So we have really only one more day here this time. I know we will be back, and we will stay longer, but this is not the time. There is too much to do to get ready for school and I am way too busy. As much as I desire a laid back life with no hurry or stress, that is not where I am right now. I have too much to do. In fact, I need to work tomorrow on some things for the Jesus Culture event in Chicago next week. No, the laid back life is just a dream. Maybe it always will be just a dream, but it sure would seem nice; at least for a while. Oh well, maybe the sun will shine tomorrow. There is only an 80% chance of rain. Anything is possible, especially in your dreams. Dream big!