[Faith-talk] Chapter 3 of my novel

[Poppa Bear]

For those who have been following so far, I thank you for taking the time to
travel with me on this writing adventure. If anybody jumps on board a little
late an is interested in getting previous chapters at any time just let me
know. Blessings

    Chapter 3

 

    On a bright early Monday morning in November Luke stepped onto a 737 jet
at Reagan National. As He transferred flights throughout the day the planes
grew eerily smaller and smaller, until he finally found himself walking
across a snow and wind blown runway in Alaska in a town named St Meikles,
climbing into a rickety plane that was so little that it reminded him of an
old beat up Jeep Cherokee with wings.

    As the pilot started to load Luke's luggage along with what looked like
bulky packages of mail into the back of the battered looking plane, Luke
quickly reached forward to hold onto the seats in front of him. The weight
of the cargo being placed behind him caused the plane to quickly jerk
backwards like a teeter totter and the entire tail of the plane smacked down
on the ground. The pilot shifted the cargo around until the nose of the
plane slowly sank back down to the ice covered ground with the front tires
settling with a dull thud.  

    Instinctively the words from the 23rd Psalm arose in Luke's mind as
small feelings of fear tickled his spine. Not only was the imbalance of the
plane disquieting, the interior of the dilapidated craft was dated and vary
dusty. Buckling the thick clackety metal seatbelt, he mused to himself,
wondering if he would die quickly or slowly if they were to crash into some
unknown snowcapped Alaskan mountain range. His musings gained a tinge of
real concern when the pilot started the engine and he noticed that the
engine actually sounded like it was misfiring as it wound to life,
sputtering and groaning like an old rusty farm tractor.

    As the plane awkwardly lurched out to the runway Luke squinted his eyes,
looking out the window, wondering if the pilot could even see anything past
10 yards. All Luke could see out of the window was a growing darkness as the
early northern evening rapidly started to cover the sky in a thick veil of
shadows. As the plane slowly gained speed, engine screaming, Luke was keenly
aware of every bump. With  teeth rattling, head bobbing around like a rubber
bouncy ball from the jarring and jostling he held on for life as  the plane
gained momentum, swaying back and forth attempting to hurl itself into the
sky like a wounded bird. Rising into the dark foreboding sky, Silver dollar
size snowflakes began sweeping past the window. Not wanting to let the hooks
of anxiety and worry sink into his mind, he pulled out a small pocket bible
and tried to become lost in the soothing power of the Psalms.

    After reading a half dozen Psalms Luke started to tune out some of the
sounds of the roaring engine. The pleading supplications to God written by
the young man David as he fled like a chased animal through the untamed
Judean hills and valleys by a king madden with rage and jealousy, began to
comfort Luke and drew his soul into the same strong arms that had sheltered
the young man so many years ago.

    As his eyes devoured the Psalms he became engrossed in the feelings and
emotions of the writer. As he occasionally glanced out into the dark abyss,
wind howling and whipping thick flakes of snow against the small Plexiglas
window, and then back down into his bible his eyes came to land on the 9th
verse of the eighteenth Psalm. The passage quickly became vary surreal and
vary life like. His eyes were taking in the words of the passage while his
senses were simultaneously registering every gust of wind, every jarring
jolt, the endless barrage of pelting flakes against the window and every
deafening churn of the growling engine cutting through the inky black sky.

    Psalm 18-9, 13 "He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were
under His feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; He soared on the wings of
the wind. He made darkness His covering, His canopy around Him- the dark
rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of His presence clouds
advanced, with hell stones and bolts of lightning. The Lord thundered from
heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. 

    A feeling of the awesomeness of God filled his heart and imagination
with the reading of the verses enhanced by the sights and sounds of the
flight. As he cast his eyes out into the darkness that had just a moment ago
looked so deep and so baron his mind saw them differently now. The presence
of anxiety subsided and his soul seemed to whisper, "He is there, yes, even
in all this darkness, even in these wild winds He speaks and his hand is not
shaken. Don't be afraid Luke, never be afraid."

    Now it seemed that all Luke wanted to do was look out the window. He
wanted to look upon God's handiwork, he wanted to get lost in it, because
that is what it was the Lords actual hand at work and in its frightening
beauty it was somehow sacred and divine in his mind's eye now. As the plane
swayed back and forth like the tops of some tall wind whipped pine trees in
a storm, instead of feeling like he was getting tumbled around on the back
of his families old nag of a mule, Luke now felt as if he were riding in the
chariot of his king being propelled to a predestined appointment.

    30 minutes later Luke was stepping off of the small commuter plane onto
a large snow packed section of land. There was 4 large flood lights
positioned at each corner of the runway, but other than that, there were no
buildings to distinguish the strip as an airport of any kind; it just seemed
to be the flattest and most convenient place for a plane to land.

    Before anyone was even in sight, the older man, the bush pilot who had
been as silent as an undertaker the whole flight began to unload the boxes
from the cargo area, quickly piling them up next to Luke along with Luke's
luggage. Next, he made a quick once over inspection of his plane and hopped
in the cockpit and fired up the single engine. He gave Luke a brisk parting
nod before he pushed the controllers forward to turn the plane back around
to get back into the sky.

    As the plane limped back into the sky, engine roaring franticly,
conspicuously, screaming obscenely loud and reverberating against the quiet
landscape, Luke saw two projecting lights zigzagging along the scanty tree
line from behind him. When he turned around he expected to see a truck or
SUV, but only saw two four wheeler ATV's slowly approaching. This was his
introduction to Alaska and the small village of Stebbins.