…continued from God of My Story (part 1)…

My experiences during college and high school were varied.  It is probably safe to say that some even put me closer to God than others.  My brother and I worked as cave tour guides for a few summers together, and in our free time we would go to private property cave exploring, or spelunking, as some would say.  (But “spelunking” is such a wierd word to me for some reason.  I prefer “cave exploring.”  Call me strange.)  And if crawling between several tons of rock with barely centimeters to spare doesn’t make you pray a little bit, I am not sure what will. 

Oh, the adventures we had!  There was one cave that I ventured into twice with Mike.  Only twice and that was probably two times too many.  It was on a private farm about twenty minutes from home and its entrance was a pit in the middle of the woods.  We had to rappel down to the bottom and climb the pile of mud and branches further down.  Deeper into the cave, we had to rappel again and beyond that was one of the most beautiful sites I had ever seen.  It is amazing to know that only a few people have or will see such an amazing site that is below the surface of this earth. 

Hang in there, I’m getting to the point of this side journey.  This particular cave and my two trips into it have left an indelible mark on me.

We had to rappel back up the second height, make our way to the pit then work on rappelling back up that one.  At this point, I was pretty tired (no, I was not in the necessary physical shape to complete two rappels and climbs in the same trip – hindsight, remember?).  My brother and his friend left quickly for the top to notify our safety net that we were ok, otherwise they were instructed to call cave rescue if they had not heard from us by xyz time.   I was left by myself in the bottom of the cave for a bit while they did that and for them to prepare to help me up that last climb. 

It was a loooooooon little bit.

I lit a candle to save battery power.  And I sang.  Prayed to the God of all religions.  Sang hymns and Christmas songs.  (My parents and aunt always made sure we went to church so I was very familiar with church and hymns.)  Talked to myself. 

Did I mention I am scared of the dark?

It was very scary, and a bit disconcerting, but all was well.  My brother and his friend returned, and it was a joint effort to pull me out with me climbing – bats circling about me the whole way.  I collapsed at the top, then we hightailed it to the car before the coyotes could get too close.

I had an opportunity some time later to return to the same cave with my brother and my dad.  On one hand, a great bonding experience, right?  On the other, am I crazy?  Bonding happened indeed, but I think God won out on that one. 

On our way back out of the cave on that second trip, I was in worse shape and simply could not pull my own weight on the second climb up.  I had to sit on top of the pile of mud and branches and debris at the bottom of the pit while my dad and brother worked their way up the rope system, waiting for them to get to the top so they could pull me up. 

I had a friend with me.

A baby copperhead snake.

He was sitting about a yard and a half from me, curled on a branch.  Fortunately, cave temperatures stay cool consistently and he was not interested in moving.  But I do not think we ever took our eyes off of each other. 

My fear of the dark had just multipled to include bats and snakes.  Ugh.

God was indeed becoming more real to me in that moment.  He heard a lot from me that night.  I was never so glad to get out of a cave, and I have not been back in one since.  (My brother also insisted he was never taking me again until I could pull my own weight – yea, yea, yea – brothers, schmothers.)

Perhaps God was trying to get my attention?  It would have worked if I had been paying attention…  Did He have His hand on that snake?  I believe He did.  Did He calm my anxieties when I could have completely freaked out? 

You bet.  If only I had been paying attention…

But all in good time.  His timing is perfect.

…to be continued…