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Grizzly
Creek
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After that one encounter,
my life was changed forever. Looking back now, it seems like yesterday,
not a lifetime ago.
Back when I was a boy,
I spent one whole winter and spring preparing for a quest. I would
take my canoe and venture all the way up Grizzly Creek to the
falls. Even back then, most people didn't use the creek to get
to the falls. A short drive on the new two lane, blacktop highway
was quicker and easier than a full day of paddling. As a kid,
I liked the trip to the falls by road just fine, but I itched
to make the "real" trip, like my heroes the mountain
men.
Finally school was
out! My gear was safely stowed in the canoe and I was ready to
go. Shoving off from shore, I felt that brash sense of power and
indestructibility that only an adventurous boy with an attitude
can have.
The creek meandered
through heavily wooded canyons; calm and peaceful much of the
way with small, lively rapids here and there to keep it interesting.
Nearing the head of a set of rapids, I paddled hard, fighting
the surging white water. One last push and I was free, back into
a tranquil part of the creek. Catching my breath and enjoying
the break, my eyes scanned the beauty of the forest around me.
At the base of a gnarled old spruce tree, it's roots tenaciously
grabbing the rocks, a glimpse of red and black checkered fabric
caught my eye.
Twice I hollered, "hello
there!". I heard no reply other than my own "hello"
echoing hollowly off the steep canyon walls. That was odd. People
around these parts were usually pretty friendly.
I wanted to ignore
the feeling that something was wrong. It probably wasn't any of
my business, but my curiosity got the better of me. I pulled ashore
and went to check it out. Moving closer I realized it wasn't a
person, it was a body. Well sort of a body, it looked more like
a skeleton with clothes on. Anyone could tell that it wasn't alive.
I had never seen a
dead body before, not even at a funeral. Not knowing whether to
run away screaming or go take a better look I did neither. For
an eternity I froze there staring, hardly daring to breath, my
heart racing a thousand beats a minute. My mind scrambled frantically,
recalling every ghost story I ever heard. I could frighten other
kids with my stories but here I was face to face with a real cadaver.
I was petrified, intensely
aware of being alone with the body and miles from anyone else.
I was also morbidly fascinated and couldn't look away. Nothing
in my whole twelve years had prepared me for what I was seeing.
Guessing by the state
of the corpse, it had been there a long time. I figured it was
a man. Seemed unlikely to be a woman alone up here. He seemed
mostly intact although a few of his bones had been dragged around
by animals. The plaid shirt and faded jeans looked like little
more than rags; torn, tattered and full of holes. Only the left
boot was on. I couldn't see the other one anywhere near. There
was a book clutched in his hand.
What had he been reading?
I had to know, so I wrenched the book from his lifeless fingers.
It was a journal with faded handwriting in pencil. Many of the
pages were ruined from being outside so long, but now and then
I could make out some of the writing .
"June 15 ....
saw a cow moose and her calf today"
Followed by more illegible
entries, then;
"June 24 . ...out
of supplies. I thought wandering and living off the land, like
the old trappers did, would be easier .... I'll just have to make
do with what I find on the way .... just follow the creek down
and I will eventually come to some town."
This stranger wanted
to be a mountain man. I wondered what happened and read on. There
was another page of writing I couldn't make out, followed by;
"July 3 .... bad
day How could something like this happen to me? Being lost was
bad enough. I should have known better than to strike out by myself.
A partner could go get help"
"July 5 ....pain
is bad today ..... tough to keep my spirits up... battling feelings
of loneliness and isolation"
"July 6 .... I
thought a lot today about my friends and family. So many things
left unsaid, so many petty differences left unresolved. Do they
know that I'm gone? Do they know where I am? Do they even care?
I never had much time
for people before. Couldn't be bothered with them. Now I feel
so terribly alone. It feels like forever since I had someone to
talk to. I was so desperate for company that I talked to a squirrel
today. He just seemed to laugh at me and scold me for my foolishness.
I don't blame him, I'd have done the same. I never want to be
alone again.
If you are out there
God, talk to me, tell me why this happened.
ANSWER ME!!!!
Maybe you don't even exist."
"July 7 Thought
about church today. I haven't been to one since I was a kid. It
was always boring and there were too many self righteous fools.
About now I'd talk to one of those fools or even old Pastor Jensen.
Thinking of that talkative old pastor reminds me of the Psalm
about the shepherd and walking in the valley of death, it was
his favourite.
God is my shepherd
He makes me lie down on green grass near quiet water
He restores my soul and makes me right
When I walk through the valley of death I won't be afraid,
His rod and staff comfort me
He gives me a table even among my enemies,
puts oil on my head and fills my cup
Goodness and mercy comes from Him and
I will live in His house forever
Amen
It helps me to think
that maybe someone is watching over me. Felt strangely comforted."
"July 9 I think
it's the ninth. I slept through all yesterday, or maybe it was
two days. Hard to tell any more. I'm so weak. Too hard to do much.
So hungry and so much pain. I don't know if I'm ever getting out
of here.""Lost track of days. I don't know how long
it's been since I wrote last time. Spent a lot of time getting
things sorted out with God. I talked, yelled, begged, pleaded,
and then finally decided just to trust Him. It feels good to have
things right with Him. Wish I'd done it years ago."
"I'm dying ....
Stay with me awhile God, I can't do this by myself. I don't want
to die, but with you here I'm not afraid any more."
The page had a few
pencil marks on the bottom of it as if to keep track of the passing
days, then nothing more. I guess that was when he died.
I knew I needed to
go back and report what I discovered. I had been known to tell
the odd whopper or two, and had already been in trouble with Deputy
Johnson more than once, so I needed some proof that there really
was a dead body. I took the journal and turned my canoe back downstream.
During the long trip
back into town, I puzzled over the miracle of a man who came to
trust God even as he lay dying. In one way I could relate to the
story in his journal. I had gone to church with my parents many
times and I felt it was a boring waste of my time, but on that
trip I began to realize for the first time how real God was. There
was more to Him than a boring hour of singing and sermons on a
Sunday morning ever showed me. Maybe He was even worth paying
attention to.
I never went back to
the falls and the sheriff never solved the riddle of who the mystery
man was or what happened to him on Grizzly Creek.
I remembered his journal
every time I preached on Psalm 23. As I locked the front door
of the church and headed home to the parsonage, I couldn't help
but marvel at the way God works. He used a man I didn't know to
change the course of my whole life, from problem kid to preacher.
After forty years perhaps
it was time to go back and finish my trip.
Join Kevin's Daily Mailing list at http://hundred-acre-woods.com/magic-list/Gleanings/
The Music in the background is "What a Friend We Have", I believe it is by Jim Hendricks. The Music is from our sponsor Maple Street Music.
Maple Street Music specializes Classic Country/Folk, Gospel Hymns, Celtic Hymns, Old-time Westerns and more http://www.maplestreetmusic.com
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