Done Gone Cavin'

Last weekend we attended a Family Campmeeting

and enjoyed a much needed re-charge of our spiritual "batteries."

There was an early morning spelunking expedition scheduled

for the last day of the event,

and the Treasure wanted so badly to go...

I didn't share her enthusiasm yet couldn't bear to see it squelched

so I rather reluctantly signed up.

The-Man flat out refused...

turns out that was a wise decision on his part.

He would have been miserable.

I'm not terribly claustrophobic...but I could be if I thought about it much.

So I prayed a lot and claimed the promise,

"Lo, I am with you always,

even unto the ends of the earth!"

It was still dark out as our group gathered at the entrance to the cave

to await our guide's arrival.

There were four adults and twelve kids...I was the only mom...

so I grabbed my girl and the only other female (early-teen) as my buddies

and we climbed right in close behind the guide.

I was really grateful for the extra-bright LED flashlight

the-Man sent with me, and for the extra two I took along

as some other folks batteries died and I was able to share.

Always take three sources of light, the-Man says.

It wasn't as bad as I was afraid it might be.

Most of the way to our destination was fairly tight passageways

and we had to do a lot of manuevering--sometimes sideways-- 

of our bodies and crawling on hands and knees

to get to the larger dome rooms where we could stand,

but at least I didn't have to do the belly crawl

or swim underwater anywhere!

Our destination on this trip was a rather large dome area

with a 30 foot waterfall at the end of it--

it really was kinda neat!

Our guide did a devotional with us in the dark room...

gives you a new perspective when you think about

how black the universe was before God created light.

The darkness was...heavy.

The trip out seemed to take longer than the one going in...

I was getting pretty anxious to see some light and breathe fresh air.

The rays from the rising sun were blinding--but very welcome--

 when we came back to the entrance

and I did a few spontaneous deep-breathing exercises

in complete gratitude!

So here are my thoughts about my first spelunking expedition.

Please excuse my analogy if it offends you...

(it draws strongly upon my past as a medical professional) 

but it's the best description I can come up with at present.

I felt like I was a human flexi-scope

crawling through the bowels of the earth.

Kinda like a colonoscopy.

It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be,

but still not something I look forward to doing again with any relish.

I'd much rather watch someone elses "adventure" on film...

like the doctor watches the procedure he is performing on a TV screen.

It was interesting, but I don't have to be there in person

to appreciate it.

Are you with me?!

I'm normally found in skirts or dresses,
but we've packed and moved our winter clothes and can't find them...
so I was grateful to find this lone pair of jeans...
definately the most modest attire I could wear for this adventure!

 

It wasn't the dirt or getting muddy and wet that I minded.

It was the lack of sunshine and the stale air,

laced with definate traces of vapors

escaped from boys-who-ate-beans-for-supper...

yeah, the oppressiveness of the dank and heavy dark.

Upon pondering my experience,

I must admit I have more empathy with Jonah.

Thinking about it makes me giggle, but bless his heart!

Can you imagine spending 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of a whale?

Sloshing around, maybe even treading water with only an air bubble to breathe...

never knowing when the big fish would make a dive at a moments notice...

no hyperbaric chamber to decompress in...

vapors from dead stinky fish and gastric juices...

It's no wonder he trotted right off to Ninevah to obey the Lord's commands

when he was unceremoniously deposited upon dry ground again!

That's some creative discipline on God's part!

My caving experience was a walk in the park compared to Jonah's adventure.

I'm glad I went, happy to have had the experience.

But I'm even happier to be back.

I will contentedly live the rest of my life above ground--

though I think the Treasure might have other plans for my future.

:D