The mysteries of God and our belief in Him are often inexplicable to those who have no understanding or relationship with The Creator. One of my earliest tangible experiences with "faith" came in a cave -- the famous Ruby Falls cave near Chattanooga. I remember descending into the depths of the earth by flashlight with the distant sound of the water's fall echoing off the walls of the cave. Finally, deep within the earth, our guide extinguished the lights to leave us buried underneath the earth in absolute darkness, the only sound the booming crash of the falling water. He exhorted us to "move forward."
"Move forward?" I thought, toward a raging waterfall half a mile under the earth. Yet, skootch forward, inch by inch, I did. I had faith in that guide, even though I could not see in the absence of light, even though I could hear rushing water and feel the mist from its movement. Then, suddenly, the Light blazed upon the water and the walls of the cave to blind us with its brilliance. Fire, Water, Earth all moved in a primeval dance of praise to The Creator. I stood in the perfect position to capture the moment in all its glory -- less than a yard from the precipice.
Bishop Kallistos Ware, in his work The Orthodox Way, asserts, "Faith is not the supposition that something might be true but the assurance that someone is there" (16) (emphasis mine). A walk through darkness, led by that Someone, always leads to the brilliance of His Presence.
Rhonda,
Beautiful analogy and writing!
Randy
Posted by: Randy Elrod | March 23, 2009 at 09:10 PM