Wild Cave Woman

Deep in the bowels of a cave is total and complete darkness. It freaks me out, to tell you the truth. That is why I was the one with the little purple backpack full of required batteries, candles, lighters, water, and first aid kit, (plus, of course, my camera), for my two teens and me. On my hard hat, I had one of those lights meant to illuminate the immediate area of the caver. My kids had flashlights strapped to their wrists. Thus clad, we bought our permit, told the ranger on duty our wild caving destination, (you must check in each time you enter or exit a cave), then hiked the short distance to our first adventure of the day!
Despite the cold, windy morning air and drizzle, once we entered the cave, the temperature was a constant 45-50 degrees. Unlike serious spelunking, where ropes and other climbing apparel are required, these caves were negotiable with your body in various contortions involving feet, hands, knees, butt, and sometimes full body contact as you crawled/slid through some passage to get to another cavern in your journey. (All of which reminded me I am not as young as I used to be!)
There were rocks and mud, occasional strange noises that made you realize just how quiet it was the rest of the time, and bats. Yeah, well, its a cave after-all, and there are bats here-and-there, hanging above your head, trying to catch some shuteye and ignore the crazy people invading their space! Once in a while, one would get annoyed and fly off to another place to seek refuge. Mostly, they just slept as if we weren't even there.
Climbing into a cave requires a certain amount of commitment. Once you are in, you have to get out. Three of the wild caves where we explored had the possibility of going in one entrance and out another, although there are also several dead ends. One cave has a single entrance/exit, so we had to go back out the way we went in - after thoroughly searching several dead ends - just for the fun of it! There is always that briefest of moments on the way out, when you ask yourself if you hadn't just been at this same place a few minutes ago, and it was one of the dead ends, not the way out. (sigh) Even with flashlights it is pretty dark until you finally get close enough to the entrance to see daylight.
The day before, we had taken the guided tour of the large cave; it made me think of Moria in LOTR. Then we hiked the rest of the day on the surrounding canyon trails. It was a lovely Spring day in this beautiful place, where it seemed God had placed His finger and made a valley right in the middle of nowhere, (really) with hills and trees, and caves for His creation to explore, and marvel at the works of His hands. It is easy to see God in hills and valleys, but His handiwork is equally evident inside of the earth. Caves can be intricate labyrinths of complexity. There is no happenstance to it. Deep inside the cave, we turned off our lights to experience Total Darkness for only a minute (don't want to freak the old lady out too much!) and I marveled that our Savior descended to the depths of hell, and that Total Darkness doesn't even begin to compare with the eternal darkness of being separated from God. Jesus (Yeshua) walked in obedience to the will of the Father, and risked everything (just one sin - even as He breathed His last breath - would have left Him in hell) to save us - His beloved - from that separation. Fortunately, He overcame that darkness and rose victorious, and we who call upon the Name of the Lord get to experience life with God eternally! His power and majesty shine brighter than the sun! This year on the morning we celebrate His resurrection, I will think about caves and tombs and darkness and light in brand new ways!