Before I moved to Alaska a Christian from here said this to me; “You need to understand that summers in Alaska are fast and furious and winters are long and furious.” I remember that statement every summer. I have now officially been in Alaska since June 14, 2009. That makes this my fifth summer here. And so far, every summer I am amazed at how quickly it goes. In just the last few days I have been clam digging, four-wheeling, metal detecting, doing yard work for myself and others, I have been to a cookout, spent time preparing for Pop Warner football, shopping at a farmer’s marker and a thousand other little things along with my normal weekly work. I can’t remember getting to sleep any night before 11:30 pm – no matter how early I get up.
Another phrase was taught to me my first summer here also; “I’ll sleep in the winter.” No one really means it, but it does capture the idea of using every single day to the fullest. If the weather is nice you had better not stay inside because it won’t last long. Summer is for enjoying every minute of sunshine that we have been given.
All of this has made me think of life in general. Each one of us is given a certain number of days and we had better use them. Only God knows when my days will be over and it might be soon, so I had better enjoy every possibly minute. I had better use it for God and for good. After all, it’s the Alaskan way!