A Dynamic Creation

 

A Dynamic Creation
Tuesday, September 1, 2026 by Brave Knight Writers

At first we thought it might be a hoax or a scam. I listened to the message several times and tried to jot things down on a paper towel. The speaker rattled off their facts in rapid-fire, which didn’t seem like a legitimate, professional tactic. I decided to look up the Juneau police number online and avoid using the messaged number in case it was a scam trap. The officer who answered informed me they were indeed investigating the theft of a rental car.

When I rented the car, nine days earlier, in Juneau—for one day— the rental agent said we could leave it in the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry terminal parking lot, 14 miles outside Juneau. She said since the ferry was leaving at 0515 it would be impossible for us to turn it in at their office in Juneau. We did as instructed, leaving the key in the console, but the car rental agent failed to note the plan on our paperwork. As a result the car was reported to the police as a possible theft.  There’s nowhere to take a car from Juneau unless you take it onto the car ferry. Even the road out of Skagway was closed due to a landslide. So the plan seemed reasonable.

I was able to clear things up with my phone call but realized I was for several days an international auto theft fugitive! We wonder, did the agent ever admit to her mistake? We have the agent’s name, as we like to engage people in conversation as we travel. We’ve met some interesting locals. We’ll protect the agent’s name, for now!

Attacks on creation continue. It’s the way of the world. Entropy and change are constant factors in all of creation. Nothing is meant to be static. We’ve witnessed the glory of God’s creation in its myriad of forms. We visited the Ancient Forest in British Columbia. The cedar trees, measuring up to 16 feet across, are at least a thousand, and possibly 2000 years old. But they have been changing all this time, growing, harboring small animals, and sometimes toppling over.

We’ve marveled at the devastation caused by the spruce beetle.  It’s a spruce apocalypse. Entire hillsides dead, and it goes on for hundreds of miles. In Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada we witnessed the starkness left by extensive forest fires.  We’re told not many animals died in that fire because they had already left the area, as the undergrowth couldn’t sustain them, and the spruce beetles had already killed the forest, so the fire rapidly consumed the trees.

The reclamation by nature is well under way, after only two years. The animals are returning, as now there is food for forage. God’s plan is always for restoration and salvation. God wins as the forest recovers.

We’ve endured smoke and haze from forest fires burning all over the north and west of the continent. It’s nature’s way. Some evergreen seed pods can only open once they’ve been burned.

We visited Mount St. Helen’s. At the time of its eruption, locals in the area could not conceive of the power behind the mountain. The six hundred degree heat travelled in a massive cloud at the speed of a fighter jet, vaporizing humans, animals, and trees as it went. An eerie sense of devastation hangs over the area, 45 years after the event. Nature is reclaiming some areas of the forest. It takes time.

We’ve witnessed the retreat of glaciers. We’ve listened to the laments about this. Isn’t it nature’s way? Wasn’t the entire northern U.S. and Canada covered by ice sheets a mile thick at one point? We can’t change the climate or the shifting and morphing of the interrelated aspects of nature. Yes, it’s a tragedy when lives are upended and lost due to the forces of nature. Nature, and it’s power, defies our comprehension.

We mourn the loss of so many lives in Tibet and China due to flash flooding. Our earth is constantly evolving, and sometimes humans are in the path of destruction forged by nature. The world is now reading the stories of heroics and survival in the midst of chaos.

We’ve met so many kind and interesting people. Some are on vacation, like we are. Some are just living their lives, making it an adventure. One in particular makes the lives of those around her easier, in her daily walk. She takes special treats to a shut-in’s doggie. She dishes up soup for travelers weary of restaurant food (us!). She takes an acquaintence with mobility issues on a jaunt to a hot springs. She serves at the local senior center, a senior herself. Refreshing to meet those who are willing to share their time and efforts to make their own little corner of the world better. One of our stops near Juneau was at a shrine for St. Therese, who died very young, but not before making her mark on the world—simply through kindness in everyday ventures. 

We have witnessed so many miracles of nature while on our trip of a lifetime. While on a fly- in fishing trip to a remote lake, we watched Mama grizzly bears in the Alaskan wilderness followed by two or three cubs each. They gorge on the salmon filling the creeks, and even swam around our small fishing boat. Our guide spoke with confidence that we had nothing to fear. He pointed out Eagles overhead, proudly surveying their territory. On a whale watch adventure, whales lingered to feed on the richness of the marine life in the frigid waters near Juneau. We saw whales breach but were to slow to photograph them, the thrill captured only in our memories. The site of a massive whale conjures the true glory of what God is capable of creating. These beasts migrate to Hawaii to have their babies, then return, babies in tow, to continue the circle of life.

We are continuing our trek through life, enjoying the Oregon Coast and the California Redwoods. To God be the Glory, for all He has done.

braveknightwriters.com