The Dark Side of Light

I often contemplate concepts too big to fully grasp. Sitting in the dark while waiting for the light is a part of hunting, camping, fishing, hiking, and much of the outdoor world that I love. I memorized a verse (John 1:5 in the Bible) and have thought about the multiple meanings of darkness not being able to comprehend light. Two real worlds yet one is merely the absence of the other.

I sat on the mountain waiting to hunt elk but contemplated all that was unseen. I wondered how close the nearest mountain lion, bear, and elk were. I knew where the nearest mule deer was because he had challenged me a couple hundred yards back. His eyes lit up the night in my head lamp at 15 yards away and two feet from the ground. My first thought was a big cat until he stood up and came at me. He quickly stopped and trotted away. I thanked the young buck for cleaning out my cholesterol and stood awhile to let my heart slow down. One never knows what might happen in the dark.

I’m on the dark side of the mountain watching it get light in the distance. The town below me has the sun already but I cannot see the mice scurrying at my feet or the big bird that just flew within a few feet of my head as the whoosh of the wings made me hunker down a little more.

It’s dark and I decided all over again (as I have before) that I will live in the light. I like light and all that it represents. Maybe the unknown excites the senses but sooner or later a light is shed on all things. I don’t want my mind to wander past my wife or my relationship with God. I don’t want to treat others as modeled by the reality (Really?) shows. I think I would do better meeting a big cat on the mountain than being in TV land.

As it gets light and the details of the mountains appear all around me, I think of what is in front of my darkness verse. “Through Him all things were made; with-out Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.” (John 1:3-4). Below is a picture of the same meadow, same direction, same camera and lens, a few yards away from the original perspective, with the light scaring away the darkness.

   

I think this is a perfect picture of some who may never know a relationship with the God who created them. It’s all there but I had to walk out into the sunlight to feel the warmth of the Son (Spelling intended) and begin to shed the things created in the dark. I understand the dark side of light. It’s me. I can cast my shadows with my tongue, attitude, or any number of negative traits I seem to drag out of my back pack now and then. I have even kept some seeds of doubt, fear, greed, and I’m not telling you any more. It’s why I try to get alone with God daily, keep a journal of my thoughts and victories, and continue to court my wife (She would say when I’m not fishing).   “If one cannot see their shadow, it’s because they are still in the dark”….Gary