Christmas time in the elementary classroom when I was a teacher always seemed bright and colorful. Lots of creative writing was generated by the season. The Clarion published a special edition insert featuring writing by the students. It was interesting for adults and fun for the students to see their stories, poems, and even artwork published in the paper.

One year, ministers were invited to write about Christmas in twenty-five words or less. Many area pastors responded, and I submitted the following:

Fresh fish! Lots of them. It takes just hours to catch the fish but days to process them in jars, or put in the freezer, and in the smoker.

Fresh fish are in great supply. Fresh caught halibut or salmon just taste better. In the winter when fresh fish aren’t available the canned or frozen fish will be great, but right now fresh is the best.

Summer time produce is plentiful too. Rhubarb, cucumbers, and other vegetables are all quite abundant and fresh. Fresh fruit and berries are a treat.

Beautifully wrapped boxes with ribbons and bows sat under Christmas trees just a few days ago. Kids anticipated opening those presents to play with the toys inside. Ironically, sometimes they ended up playing with the boxes.

The colorful Christmas decorations are now being stored in boxes. Retailers put storage containers on sale to accommodate the need for space to store all these things.

Alaska’s summer brings much to marvel about. The size of the fish caught; wasn’t that a huge halibut caught near Pelican? The size of the red run; I hope you got your supply of sockeye. The newborn moose calves nearly double their size and weight, the long hours of daylight, and the list goes on. These marvels continue into August and the fall; northern lights show up, meteorite showers appear, garden growth is harvested, and so on.

Many times in the Bible people marveled at God’s great works. Astonishment and awe were caused by his marvelous acts.