03 April 2015

Friday Morning

Good morning, out there!

Like most Alaskans, I occasionally feel a trifle claustrophobic here in southcentral, knowing there's only one road in or out of town. We have to drive 7 hours to reach the state line and our nearest neighbor - the Yukon Territory. Unless you're willing to drive around the clock, it's a 3-day trip to Seattle, some 1400 miles away by road ... or 3 1/2 hours by air.

I do sometimes miss the ability to drive for an hour or two and be with family ... but that's part of living here. While life here is not primitive, one accepts a certain isolation. Anchorage hasn't been "frontier" for thirty years or so, but we are on the edge of the frontier. It's not always for the faint of heart.

None of this is a "woe is me" party - it's just part and parcel of living here, on a completely different piece of the planet from the Lower 48. There is a prevailing sentiment here that we're barely a part of the U.S., being so far away from everything "down there."

Our weather is still unseasonably warm, with uppers 20s at night, and highs near 50. The normal high this time of year is in the upper 30s.

This is also "Good Friday", the day on which most Christians remember that Jesus of Nazareth voluntarily let himself be executed by the Roman & Jewish authorities. This was the key part of God's plan of redemption for us: a perfect Man, the Son of God, had to take our sins upon himself* - as if he were a sinner - and suffer the punishment that we so richly deserve.

Why? So that God the Father of us all could look at us as righteous and forgiven. Jesus paid the price for us, so we could be with Him.

All we can do is receive the free gift of God with gratitude, humbling ourselves in obedience to Him who loves us.

That's about it for now - y'all be good, and if you can't be good, be careful!



* For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.(2 Corinthians 5:21)

4 comments:

binky said...

Y'all be good and if you can't, be careful? Sounds like you're from Texas.
If I can't be good and I can't be careful, Ill just name it after you.
Paul in Texas

Rev. Paul said...

Nope, nary a drop o' Texas blood in this Alaskan. We don't cotton to them little states y'all have down south. :)

Old NFO said...

Have a Happy Easter.

Rev. Paul said...

You too, NFO.