“Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, BATMAN!” Woops!…wrong bat cave. But it was a batty day! Three different groups going three different directions all winding up 750 ft. underground and finishing the day off watching a real bat flight as the sun went down. That’s right, today we were at Carlsbad Caverns, not one…not two…but 12 hours.
As I said, we divided into three different groups going on three different ranger-guided tours. The Left-Hand Tunnel Tour was the first to depart on their adventure. A small group of us explored an area of the cave on unpaved trails using candlelit lanterns. The largest group made their way 23 miles down the road and hiking one mile up the side of a mountain to explore Slaughter Canyon Cave with flashlights. The last group was made up of the graduating seniors (and one college freshman…oh, and Aaron) touring the Lower Cave which found them descending and climbing ropes and ladders through tight spaces also using flashlights for illumination. Everyone ultimately also took the natural cave entrance and toured the big room below.
One thing that was common to all tours was reaching a place where all lights were extinguished. The darkness was so deep that you couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face. The guide warned us that some may want to sit down because some people get dizzy and lose their balance in the dark. It was horrifying to think about being unable to light our candles and make our way out of the cave. I couldn’t help but think about the spiritual parallels. Colossians 1:13 says, “He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves.” Now we have a much better understanding of just what Christ did for us. I was also struck by how quickly the darkness was dispelled with just the flashlight of the guide. How much greater the light became as one by one he lit our candles. John 1:9 says, “The true light [Christ], who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” The arrival of Jesus through the virgin Mary was like the guide lighting the flashlight. Even though at that point each of us didn’t have a light of our own, the way was made somewhat clear because of his flashlight. We could see our surroundings and the path. The very coming of Christ has illumined the way for mankind. And His light grows brighter and the way becomes clearer as His Holy Spirit indwells each person who comes to Him for salvation and rescue. There was simply no better teaching opportunity for all of us than what we experienced at Carlsbad Caverns today.
At the close of the day we gathered with a crowd to witness the bat flight as they left the cave for the evening. While we were waiting for the bats to fly out we sang “America, the Beautiful”.
Finally the bats entered the mouth of the cave, true to their custom of spiraling seven times before taking flight out across the mountains. It was a day to marvel at the wisdom and wonder of God’s creations.
Dear friends,