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A SELECTED "NORTHERN LIGHTS"
MAGAZINE ARTICLE
(from Issue #478)
Drops From Above
by Bill Jackson
 The old trapper with whom I was visiting happened to mention
"drops
from a plane" during our conversation. It sounded like something that
I wanted to know more about, so I began to ask some questions of this
man who had spent many years on a trap-line north of Ft. Chipewyan (AB).
He explained that it was very difficult to take enough supplies to
last for the duration of the winter and spring trapping seasons, so
supplies were ordered whenever they ran low. The communication to the
store was by a two-way radio. The people at the store would wrap up the
order -- things like flour, sugar, tea and lard -- and then a plane
would fly to the designated area and begin to drop the items.
This method worked well, for there were no airstrips for landing and
take-off. It was certainly good for the trapper who did not have to make
a long trip for supplies. Even though this trapper had been familiar
with this procedure for many years, he remained fascinated with the
accuracy of the drops.
He told me, "We never lost anything. As the plane circled, the
carefully wrapped items would bounce near us until the drops were
completed. Boy, they were right on!"
I commented that I had heard of similar things being done in other
parts of the world. As I thought about this, I felt there was a lesson
to be learned, a comparison that could be made in the spiritual realm.
First of all, does my communication with God include not only my own
needs, but also the needs of others who do not, or could not talk to Him
because they do not know Him?
Also, Colossians 3:1 says, "If you then be risen with Christ, seek
those things which are above..." Answers from God in "gift packages" to us should include the filling
of His Spirit, more sound knowledge of His Word, boldness to speak to
others of Christ, and a genuine concern for others that moves us to pray
for, and speak to them.
One more thing the now-retired trapper told me was, "When we came
home from the trap-line, we went to pay for our drops from the plane."
We, as believers in Jesus Christ, know that we need not pay for these "drops" from the heavens.
"Every good and every perfect gift is
from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is
no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17).
Instead we will be on the receiving end -- we will be rewarded.
Along
with Native Evangelical Fellowship (NEFC) membership, the Jacksons have
served with NCEM since 1964. They live at Goodfish Lake (AB).
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