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Led Through Total Darkness

How do you get through the mountains when you can't see a thing?

by Ruth Rodger

There we were: three women missionaries on muleback with an Indian guide embarking on a seven-hour ride up into the Andes mountains of Colombia, South America. Two missionary friends, a nurse and a teacher working in a remote village in the mountains, had asked us to visit. They expected us to arrive around sundown, but because of several delays our trek did not even begin until 4 p.m. We didn't know what we were getting into and thought we could follow the trail with our flashlights without much difficulty.

None of us had much experience with mules. Their jarring gait, combined with the stirrups designed for shorter Indian riders, quickly made us realize this would be a long, painful evening.

Two hours passed quietly. With a tight grip on the reins we guided the mules along a wide trail, riding side by side. Our guide, in typical fashion, trotted shoeless behind us.

At nightfall, the trail narrowed and began its ascent. We rode single-file, bushes brushing our sleeves and snagging our pants as we passed.

An enormous moon appeared but soon slid behind a mountain, leaving us in total darkness. So, we took turns lighting the path with our flashlights, loaded with fresh batteries. Occasionally, one of us would venture to ask, "How much longer?"

"Not far now," the guide answered each time.

At one point, he asked me, in broken Spanish, if I was afraid.

"Should we be?" I answered haltingly, wondering if he knew something we didn't.

"Tigers are out at night," he replied.

"What do they eat?"

"Cows," came the reply.

We started to sing, hoping not to be mistaken for cows. We found out later that the animals the guide had mentioned were, in fact, small mountain cats, not tigers. But the fear of what might lie beyond the range of our flashlights was real.

When light fails
Sooner than expected, our flashlights died, and the blackness that surrounded us was almost palpable. I waved my hand in front of my face but couldn't see anything.

Without light, the mules refused to move. We pulled up their heads, prodded their sides, and slapped their rumps, but they wouldn't budge. A feeling of helplessness and rising panic took over. We didn't know where we were, we couldn't go back, and we dared not dismount.

Our guide offered no help, until finally he said, "Let go of the reins." This made no sense to us, but since we had no other recourse, we obeyed.

Then a marvelous thing happened. As we let go of the reins, each mule lowered its head and sure-footedly headed down the trail. We just held onto the saddle horn and sat still.

Overhead, a million stars blinked down at us. Our hearts were drawn to God in praise, and we began singing again. The stars reminded us of God's wondrous power, assuring us the Creator God knew where we were, even if we didn't.

Eventually we arrived at the plateau where the village was located. We paused and thanked the Lord for his guidance and safekeeping and then spent the night with our missionary friends.

Allowing God to lead
The next day, as we returned, we saw the trail in daylight for the first time. We were appalled at where we had been; steep ravines fell off to one side of a trail so narrow that one misstep meant disaster for mule and rider. Our guide stayed in his village, and without him, we took a wrong fork several times and had to backtrack, wasting time and energy. To our surprise, the ride in bright sunshine proved to be more unnerving than the one we had made in complete darkness. Once again, I realized how God's hand had been with us each step of our journey.

I am often reminded of that trip at times in my life when I'm at the end of my resources, strength, and abilities. I believe God allows dark valleys in the lives of his children so he can teach us to trust him. During those times, we don't know where we're going, we can't turn around, we can't "get off." Nothing happens while we hold on to the reins, forcing things to go our way.

God asks that we simply let go and let him lead. Psalm 46:10 puts it like this, "Cease striving and know that I am God" (NASV).

Copyright © 1998 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today's Christian magazine (formerly Christian Reader).
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