The colors of autumn

Well the colors of autumn are almost in full array, the leaves are turning to the most beautiful colors of orange, yellow, red and amber.  The wonderful days of this summer are to be no more, the only remnant of this crazy, exciting, wonderful days are the awe-some memories.  The times of being blessed by the warm weather and the fellowship of a special, inspiring person.
I will always hold close, the events of this past summer as the most wonderful summer of my life.  There were days when all I could do was humbly bow and give thanks to my Savior  for the blessing of that day, most of the time, I had no words to adequately express my gratitude to Him.
I will always hold dear the days fishing for king salmon up at the river with Nul' bey , and sometimes other friends would join us, each time was special.  The pure joy of witnessing the thrill and excitement of her hooking on to a salmon, almost too large to land, her exuberance with that fish on the line was amazing, the thrill in her voice as she struggle to bring the monster lunker ashore, was just as thrilling for me to watch as it was for her to fight the big fish.  She landed the big fish, and other fish was caught by her and each was a thrill to witness.
The memories of fishing with a net on the Cook Inlet for king salmon and teaching her our traditional ways of preparing the salmon, smoking, salt-down, and freeze for the winter was just as amazing.  I can still visualize her trying to pull the net off the beach with the running line.  The visualization of her pulling on the line with all her effort to reset the net in the water, was futile, until we would join her in her struggle to set the net, was a special moment in time.  She got her work-out, she got muddy, she got bloody from the fish, but all this was amazing and will be in my memory bank.
The other events of this summer, was just as awe inspiring as the above, the long walk on the beach, the gathering of "pretty rocks", the cutting of birch bark for baskets, the berry picking, the fellowship and worship time, the prayer time....
This was the summer to remember always.  But the one person responsible for the outcome of this summer and the transformation in our lives, to whom we will always be grateful is our Lord and Savior.  I didn't want the special season to end, nobody does, but as the fisherman say "time and tide waits for no one".
Just as the summer was so very special for me, I can now look, with expectancy, with joy, with anticipation the events to come, for now I can see with eyes that have been reopened and a heart that was, for so long hardened, was made soft again and open to the ways and will of the Almighty.
Life for me, again, is lonely and dreary, but I can now see the days ahead will be filled with the cares of this world, the trials and what ever may come my way will be met with and by a transformed man.