I recently went on an epic bike ride with my son and it involved riding on an old train track that has been turned into a bike path. We went through 10 tunnels and over many trestle bridges. The highlight of the ride was an amazingly long 1.7 mile tunnel which we went through twice, going and coming. I noticed something about light and tunnels which I never realized before: the light is much farther away than it seems.
The tunnel ride was a bit nerve wracking for me because my 7 year old was riding along with me and I kept anticipating worse-case scenarios. I was already slightly unsettled upon entering the tunnel because our headlights we had bought and planned to use were insufficient for the complete darkness of the tunnel, which gets pitch black like a cave. We had to turn around and rent brighter lights for our bicycles.
So when I began seeing the natural light at the end of the tunnel, my heart leapt for joy at exiting the tunnel without mishap. However, I noticed that the rest of that tunnel ride seemed twice as long as I felt like it should be; I kept feeling like we should be nearing the exit but the exit stayed a really long way off yet.
I take from this a teaching about life:
Light beckons to us with warmth and with the promise of a happy ending, but we might still be in our tunnel much longer than we feel like we should be. We might not be able to see much progress because that speck of light does not grow very quickly, but just glows as a steady companion and promise from God that He is there, waiting.
We may feel anxious about how far off the light remains, but to stay in the darkness is not a viable choice once we have seen the light. We must hurry toward it! Thank you for Your Light, LORD. ❤
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” ~John 8:12
~Song of Mary~ 