Light in the darkness

It is strange the things we realize while driving by ourselves. So like usual I was on an adventure and had no destination besides avoiding anyone. I headed out of town and took old route 66. I know strange to think this small road use to be the main highway. So weird! I just happened to have my mountain bike on top of my car and conveniently camping gear in my trunk. So I set out to find a sweet trail and somewhere to camp. As the drive began there were a lot of developed roads closed off because of the recent winter season and the one that were open were not developed and had no markings. I know creepy right! So I picked a random turn off and took my non-off-roading Camry on the non-existent road. Lets just say the vehicle isn't exactly what you would call capable of this type of "road." However, I was determined to find a sweet camping spot completely by myself. My curiousity swept over me and I decided to drive until the "road" ended. Along the way I discovered a small water hole which was completely random and beautiful. So like any other person naturally I stopped to take pictures! "Damn tourists!" I returned to my car and continued. I don't know if what I found would be considered such an ending, but there was barbed wire so I decided not to cross. Well at least not in my vehicle considering this barbed wire was on the "road." I continued walking until I reached the "summit" and tried to figure out where I was. Yeah, useless! I returned to my car then turned around. I eventually made it back to old route 66 and continued down the road towards somewhere. Again another "trail" sparked my interest and I decided to adventure down it. Trailhead 088. Whatever that means! And once again my vehicle was not up to standards to fight against the inclines and muddy terrain. But I drove it anyways! I did hit a particular area where I was sliding so much on the snow up an incline that I decided to turn around. On my way back the sun was setting and I set up camp. No one in sight and likely no one would ever come down this road. I started a fire and put together my tent. Darkness swept over the land and nothing but the fire could be seen. Naturally I had hot dogs in the cooler in my trunk along with my camping seat. I set it up and ate a few hot dogs. With the sun vanished and the moon rising the temperature began to drop. And drop fast! I did not have the proper gear to stay warm so I packed up and headed back into town. I called up a friend and crashed on their floor. I woke up and ended up with a parking ticket and a sense of an unfinished adventure. I decided to drive to Sedona and hit up some mountain bike trails. Again middle of nowhere on my bike enjoying the beauty surrounding me. I finished the trail and headed back into town. In the wee hours of the morning I decided to drive home of course after a 2am Ihop breakfast with friends. No we were not drunk! On my drive home I was hoping for the clouds to clear so I could gaze at the stars. Unfortunately the entire drive the stars were covered up by clouds, however the moon was shinning brightly. This brings me to the point of this entire entry. Being the light in the darkness. During this time of day no one is on the roads besides the occasional trucker and of course me. There are no lights besides the headlights of fellow drivers and the moon. This next part I know is no safe and should never ever ever be done, however I just had to. On the drive I briefly turned off all lights in my car including my headlights. And for that moment the only light visible was the moon. The craziest thing was I could see perfectly by only using the light from the moon. There was no escaping it. No where to hide. Absolutely unavailable! I guess there were things I could have done, like gone into a cave, shut my eyes, or gone into some sort of structure. But I didn't. I was driving. The darkness couldn't hide from the light of the moon. This reminds me of a story most of us are remotely familiar with. These are found in these verses:

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16

The light projected from the moon could not be hidden from. Everything was bring touched by it. You could see perfectly if you weren't distracted from light from another source. I believe this is often difficult to apply in our daily lives because of distractions. We can see the moon and the effects of it, but we are distracted by the person to our right with their flashlight on. They are distracting us, trying to steal the glory of the moon, trying but failing to gain any significant glory. We only want to yell at them to turn off their flashlight and enjoy the beauty of the moon and stop shining their false light in your eyes. Next we have Mark....

"And he said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." And he said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."" Mark 4: 21-23

Such simple truth and yet we can't seem to follow any direction. The truth is the moon shinning is completely out of our control. We cannot tell it to move this way or that. It will simply shine regardless of what we do. Putting it under a basket or bed is impossible! Nothing is hidden, even the darkness is exposed. It is even worth attempting to hide then? And last we have Luke, a physician;

"No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light." Luke 11:33-36

I personal like to read Luke, basically because he was into medicine and so am I. His writing speaks truth to me and I completely understand what he is talking about. Seeing the light from the moon and being able to see how much it shines in pure darkness it beyond words. The light literally cannot be contained and exposes everything in the dark. I love how Luke uses the analogy of your eye being health then the entire body is filled with light. This is such an amazing image. To think that your body is fueled by visible influences and that determines how you are doing as a whole. I want to be at the point where I see the light shinning from the moon and allow that to uncover any darkness that tries to threaten me.

Never-the-less, the drive home was amazing even if it was at 0300 and I was completely by myself. Because in reality I was not alone, God's light was shinning through the moon and lighting my path even when I decided to not be intelligent and turn off my headlights while driving. When you feel like you are surrounded completely with darkness, find out what flashlight is distracting you from the ultimate light.