Notes from the Heart · September 2026
When the Lights Went Out
I don’t think I fully understood darkness until that day at the bottom of the clammy cave. We’d crouched through narrow passageways, slid down smooth rock, and descended hundreds of stairs, twisting and turning our way to the depths of the Lewis and Clark Caverns below. A few bats clung silently to their resting places on the damp limestone walls, and the air hung thick and chilly. On and on we’d ventured through the subterranean labyrinth until suddenly we’d emerged into a surprisingly cavernous chamber. It opened to a soaring ceiling nearly 10 stories above us, exposing towering layers of “frozen waterfalls,” and what looked like enormous, petrified icicles hanging from the rocky ceiling. Other formations rose from the ground and sometimes the two met to create massive otherworldly pillars. Strategic illumination all around created fantastic, dramatic shadows that danced on the glistening walls and stony canopy high above. The impact of this lofty Gothic cathedral was audible to our amazed tour group.
But then the guide instructed everyone to extinguish any light we carried. At the same time, all other light in the underground chamber went black. Eerie darkness descended like a heavy, suffocating shroud. Dripping water pierced the stillness. The pitch darkness felt strange, terribly tangible. When I held my hand in front of my face, as the guide directed, not one finger was even faintly visible. I expected my eyes to adjust but they never did. Only blackness. Absolute total darkness. I think I’ve been more grateful for light ever since that unforgettable experience.
The caverns always come to mind when I think of the words Jesus spoke over 20 centuries ago. “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)
What does it mean to have the light of life? The answer goes back to the beginning. God created us to have a relationship with Him, giving us purpose and direction and hope. He loves us eternally, unconditionally, and immeasurably! We know this because He gave us His inspired word and preserved it so that we might search it out and find Him in our quest for answers.
But maybe you understand far too well what it’s like to search for clarity but still feel lost in darkness—to search for peace, only to have it slip away. Maybe you hunt for meaning and significance, but everything seems pointless and empty in the end. God’s word gives us some good news!
Walking in Darkness
But first the bad news. We are naturally “walking in darkness” even though we may not realize it. This just means we are by nature separated from the one true God, our Creator, Who is holy. “There is none righteous, no not one.” (Romans 3:10)
In His word, God calls this sin. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) We aren’t necessarily as bad as we can be, but we are still all as bad off as we can be because nothing short of God’s perfection meets His holy standard. Sin is the reason we don’t have the lasting peace or the deep fulfillment we long for. And God says that we cannot change our condition on our own. No amount of good works can earn God’s favor.
The Light of the World
We are headed to the outer darkness of a Christless eternity because our sin has earned death. “For the wages of sin is death…” But wait! The good news comes in the second half of the same sentence! “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) What did God do to solve our problem? “God demonstrated his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Millennia ago, God the Son (Jesus Christ) chose to take on human form, entered the world He created, and lived a perfect life. Then He gave that life on the cross, voluntarily dying in our place to take the punishment God’s justice demands for sin. Jesus Christ arose three days later, triumphing over death.
Why I’m Sharing This With You
But that was a long time ago. What does that mean for us today? The same thing it meant back then! Just as we followed the guide through the labyrinth of passages in the caverns, we can follow Jesus to find the way out—the way home.
What does it mean to follow Jesus? If we place our faith in Jesus Christ, trusting in His death as the payment for our sins, all our sin will be forgiven. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:31) Eternal life is the gift God offers freely to each of us. But we need to take the gift to receive it. How? By repenting of our sin, and placing our faith in Him, which places us in God’s eternal family.
Maybe you are weary. You’ve been looking for peace and hope in a world where darkness is falling. In these days of rapidly accelerating “deep fakes,” and artificially generated information, truth can seem blurry, elusive… maybe even imaginary at times. Truth is still there in the darkness. Like my hand was to me in the cave, truth can just be hard to see. Truth hasn’t changed though. Neither has God, or His plan from eternity past!
Jesus said this, too. “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) It’s a bold and exclusive claim, isn’t it? But it’s also extraordinarily loving, because He doesn’t want us to be deceived into missing the single narrow path He provided. The way to heaven isn’t wide. I imagine it to be something like the thin, tight passageways we crouched through deep underground on our way to the grand cathedral room. “There is a way that seems right to man but, in the end, it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12) the Bible lovingly warns. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) Today, Jesus still offers the loving invitation He gave hurting people centuries ago.
“Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28
At aglowbug (meaning the tiny two-person venture my husband and I are starting to get off the ground 😊 with the Lord’s help), we are humbly grateful that God rescued us, giving us purpose and peace. We want to share the light we’ve received with those around us, bringing hope and warmth like the first flickering light did when it came back on in the deep, inky darkness. We’d have no greater joy than to share with you the gift we’ve received. Feel free to email me if you’d like to hear more about the One Who sees you and me, and in perfect love says:
“I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12
— Alora