Easter at the North Saskatchewan

The Columbia Icefield near Jasper Alberta

If you live in Edmonton, each time you go to the tap and pour yourself a cold glass of water, you're tasting something that has come to us from the Columbia Icefield. A stream of water begins as a trickle and then starts a downward flow from the Saskatchewan Glacier. The water continues through a small series of lakes and rivers and eventually joins the North Saskatchewan River as it flows eastward from Lake Abraham. The North Saskatchewan journeys east, through Edmonton, and finally empties itself in the Hudson Bay in Ontario and Quebec. When the river passes through our city, the water is treated, and we have an abundance of freshwater that makes life work in Edmonton. An abundance that we often take for granted. (see note at end of the post for source)

I love living near the river. During the spring and summer, my best bike rides are along the trails of the river. The experience is refreshing and life-giving. I'm considering getting a kayak or a paddleboard to experience the river differently this summer. Anyone who's lived here for any amount of time recognizes that eventually, in the late fall, the river begins to frost along the edges. Frost becomes ice that ultimately consumes the entire surface of the river, halting the flow of water at the top and obscuring our vision of the river's flow. I survive winter. I don't necessarily thrive in it. Many Canadians can skate and embrace winter sports; I don't count myself in those numbers. I wouldn't be the first person to say they feel like life stops when the snow begins to fall. Our winters can feel like they persist with no end in sight.

Then, depending on how lucky we are, one can start to see a darkening near the center of the ice, and a tiny thread of water begins to flow. Eventually, that dark tread splits into larger cracks, and within a matter of two to three weeks, the ice unlocks, and we're all reminded that a river has never stopped flowing, even when it's not apparent. I'm not trying to be overdramatic here, but it fills me with hope.

The Easter season, for me, is a reminder of the inevitability of hope. As a person of faith, I am spiritually sustained by a lifegiving hope that a better world is here and an even better world is on the way. It's easy to watch the news and doubt that the world or the people living in it are good.

In this season of Passover and Easter, I've been drawn to this small section of the book of Isaiah. A promise for the people of Israel and the entire world that we live in a new reality. A world where not only is good possible, but goodness and justice are ever-emerging forces in the unfolding history of humanity.

16 This is what the Lord says—
    he who made a way through the sea,
    a path through the mighty waters,
17 who drew out the chariots and horses,
    the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
    extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
18 “Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.

-Isaiah 43:16-19 NIV

Justice, mercy, peace, hope, and love. These are all beautiful ideas, but they're also choices we can make that help usher in the future we can all look forward to. Our city, province, and country are in rough spots. I fully acknowledge this. Inflation, houselessness, and conflict are front and center for all to see. There are issues that no one person can solve. Having the vision to see these challenges as things that can be overcome is sometimes hard. But I'm reminded at Easter that there is much more going on under the surface. We still live in a world that God loves and is full of good people working hard to make life better for everyone.

So, wherever you are today, my hope is that you have eyes that can see hope and be encouraged. There's so much for us to look forward to.

From my family and I, Happy Easter! As we say in the faith,

"He is Risen!"

Note: I’m indebted to Billie Milholland’s work from her non-fiction book “Living In the Shed” a fantastic and sometimes hard-to-find book on the North Saskatchewan River. If you love our river and its history, you should pick up a copy for your library.