God has perfect timing for you!

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” (Eccles. 3:1)

When I was a teenager, I spent a couple of wonderful Alaskan summers commercial fishing and living with Joe Redington, Sr., and his family. Those summers were Alaska at its best!

A note on the door

It all started when I was 14. On the last day of school, I returned home to our log cabin in Rabbit Creek, Alaska, only to find a note on the door. The note informed me that my parents had moved to California. It also instructed me to go to the Emard Cannery in Anchorage to meet Joe Redington, who would be waiting for me there. After recovering from my initial shock, I followed their directions and found Joe exactly where the note said he would be.

Working with Joe was a wonderful experience and a privilege! Joe is an Alaskan legend and the “father” of the Iditarod dogsled races. I helped him on his fishing boat, “The Nomad,” I fed his dogs at his home on Flathorn Lake, and I loved watching him practice dog sledding even in the summertime with sleds equipped with wheels!

Joe was a great mentor to me

He and his family lived in a big house next to Flathorn Lake, where they lived completely off the grid. They didn't have electricity, running water, or indoor plumbing, but they didn't miss any of it! We collected seagull eggs, hunted, and fished. I helped him deliver groceries and supplies to folks out in the wilderness. On long Alaskan summer days, we commercially fished Cook Inlet until we had a full load of salmon. Then we made the long twelve-hour trip to Emard Cannery in Anchorage to deliver our load. 

I suddenly lost my footing! 

One day, when we had a big load of fish and were about halfway across Cook Inlet, we stopped for a rest and dropped anchor. Joe went below to take a nap, and I was alone upside. Part of my job was to keep the fish from drying out. I hauled up seawater with a bucket on a rope. This time, as soon as I lowered the bucket over the edge into the water, it filled up, but I lost my footing, and the weight of it pulled me overboard! The water immediately filled my hip boots, causing me to sink even deeper. My boots stuck to my legs, and I couldn’t get them off. I couldn't swim with them! I was quickly running out of air.

Something miraculous happened!

Then I felt something grab me by the top of my hood, pull me up to the surface, and back onto the boat! It was Joe! Joe told me he had just awakened from his nap. He came onto the deck just in time to see me fall overboard and disappear under the water. He was able to grab the gaff pole to reach for me. It was miraculous that he came on deck at exactly the moment he did and was able to snag the top of my hood. It was a miracle!

God is the God of perfect timing!

“God sends Angels  to minister to them who will be heirs of salvation.” (Heb. 1:14)

“My times are in Your hands – deliver me . . .” (Ps. 31:15)

“You are my hiding place; you will preserve me from trouble.”(Ps. 32:7a)