“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” (Ecclesiastes 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 began when I came home from the last day of school and found a note on the door telling me my parents had moved to California! Their note told me to go to Emard Cannery in Anchorage to meet Joe Redington. Working with Joe was a great experience and a privilege! Joe is an Alaskan legend and the “father” of the Iditarod dogsled races. I helped him feed his dogs and loved watching him practice dog sledding even in the summertime with sleds equipped with wheels!
Joe was a great mentor to me and taught me a lot
He and his family lived in a big house next to Flathorn Lake where they lived completely off the grid. No electricity, no running water, no indoor plumbing, but we 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 commercial fished in 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 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 sea water 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! My hip boots instantly filled with water and dragged me down even more. 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.
Then I felt something grab me by the top of my hood and pull me up to the surface, and then 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 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
