What’s in the cavern? What is lurking in the dark corner of the rocks near the sea where most are too afraid to go? Most were but I wasn’t. as people swam through the turquoise waves they would stop and stare at the wonderfully artistic rock formation God had placed just before the water. Some were brave enough to come closer and touch the soft green algae that filled in all the cracks in the cliffs. The rocks were so majestic and perfect that is was impossible to believe they were not created by an all-powerful God. The complexity of their structure begged for someone like me to explore every part of it and discover what secrets it held in the details of its form.
At first, I didn’t find much other than the freezing waters flowing from the mouth of a distant river into the depths of the mysterious ocean, forever entwined and lost in its magnificence. I’ve always loved the ocean for that reason because it’s so much like God in that way and I’m floating through the river of my life ready to get lost in Him every day. As I continued to search for some hidden treasure, climbing carefully between sharp stones and soft, wet sand, I discovered a dark opening in the back corner of the rocks. This was the cavern no one dared to go inside, this was the infamous dark corner no one had the courage to enter. Knowing all that could be there, hidden and undiscovered, I went in crawling through the sand on my hands and knees. I wasn’t satisfied just viewing the beauty of the outside, I wanted, almost needed to know what was on the inside too. I needed to find what God’s creation had hidden in it’s dark depths. I found something as I explored inside but it was nothing I would have ever even thought to dream was there.
As I crawled deeper into the darkness, I felt the sand scratching my belly and the slimy softness of the algae weaving its way between my fingers. It went on much farther that I’d anticipated and my heart was all but beating out of my chest as I thought of all the possibilities. Anything could appear at any second. My imagination ran wild. Could it be a giant, undiscovered, reptilian species? An oversized snake? An ogre? A troll? A beached sea monster? Or could it be something less terrifying but just as wonderful? Buried treasure? Ancient relics? Or what I longed for the most… hidden souls?
Suddenly, I saw it, a flickering light illuminated the cavern walls as if someone or something had started a campfire. I peeked my head around the corner I had not known was there before with the utmost tenacity. As I did, I was shocked to find that not only did the cave open up so that I could stand up straight, but it was also home to a small community of what appeared to be idol worshippers, burning what looked like the vital organs of the small unrecognizable animal that lay dead next to the man tending the fire. They hadn’t noticed me yet so I looked around a bit and saw that there were only about 20 or 30 of them gathered in the opening. They were dressed in nothing but homemade body paint and loincloths. The ground was covered with large banana leaves that one man slept upon with a little girl in this arms. There were many small, hand-carved, wooden and stone statues which I assumed were supposed to be their gods. There was one rather large one on the back wall that had the face of an eagle, fins like a dolphin and a body like an unclothed woman. They had painted each of the figures with red streaks. The paint looked like it was made from blood but I wasn’t certain.
I stood up slowly and one by one they began to notice my presence. They were just as shocked to see me as I was to see them. It felt like the world froze for a moment as we stared into each other’s eyes with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. I felt the air grow warmer as our breath quickened in fear of the unknown. After a while, they turned to speak to each other in their native tongue the sound of which was unfamiliar to me, though I had heard the sounds of hundreds of different languages before. I was so astounded and fascinated that I could do nothing but stare with eyes the size of the sun and moon. Their conversation seemed to grow heated and I wasn’t sure if I should crawl back outside or stay but my feet made the choice form me as they seemed to be frozen in place.
I decided to take a risk and say, “hello” in the tiniest voice imaginable though it still sounded like thunder in my ears even next to my pounding heart. Their speeches stopped abruptly and one man sauntered towards me on his haunches, carrying a large painted stick in this hands. He looked me up and down and, after a thorough examination, hit my arm with the stick just enough to elicit an exclamation. Upon hearing me speak again, they all gasped and recoiled almost in unison, the man and the little girl having long since awakened from their slumber. The man who hit me stepped back and motioned form me to sit t by the fire. I walked over cautiously and sat down. A half-naked woman across from me tried to communicate something through hand gestures and her native tongue but I couldn’t make it out. Everyone else simply sat and stared at me in silence for what felt like forever. I prayed that God would show me what to do and I felt an overwhelming urge to speak, through I didn’t know their language. With trembling lips, I told them my name and, as I spoke, their eyes were transfixed and it was almost like they could understand me after a while. I told them all about anything that came to mind and then I started talking about souls and that I was on a mission to find hidden souls. I asked if they knew what a soul was without expecting an answer but that’s exactly what I got.
A little girl, sitting diagonal from me, first said something in her own language and then her speech gradually began to morph into one I could understand. Before long she was speaking perfect English, saying, “…and how do you know how to speak our language? Some force drew you here, which one was it? Who sent you? Mostly we want to know who are you and where did you come from?”
I was completely dumbfounded. She understood me in her own language and I understood her in mine! It was like a miniature manifestation of the day of Pentecost! I could hardly believe it! I was so shocked that it took me a moment to respond but when I did all I could say was, “You’re speaking my language.”
She seemed just as shocked as me. “I can only speak one language,” She replied, somewhat confused.
“God, Jesus Christ, the one true God sent me,” I said gently but boldly, “and He is the reason we understand each other right now.” My statement seemed to terrify them. All 30 of them went into an all-out panic, mindlessly clawing at the walls, throwing things and tearing everything apart, yet somehow I was completely at peace. The room went dark as the fire had been quenched in the chaos.
One man grabbed my arm and said, “Where is He?!” he sounded desperate and his eyes were wild with fear.
“He is found in your very soul, you just have to believe he’ s there.” I responded placidly and everyone stopped almost immediately at my statement.
“He must be someplace near if He sent you to us and He has to be the one our prophecies speak of. They say he was to send a white woman who could speak our language. Where is he?! Tell us, please!” Another man begged.
A woman behind me added, “Is he angry with us for not finding Him sooner? is that why you won’t tell us?”
“He’s here, He’s just too big to see. You have to be quiet enough to hear Him.” I whispered back.
Immediately, the cave was eerily silent as the people looked around, anxiously waiting to hear the God they had searched for all their lives, “He is here” someone whispered, “I can feel Him.”
“Always,” I whispered back and, without explanation, the fire lit up the room again to reveal glistening eyes as tears flowed from every eye in the room, like rivers into the ocean. I began to sing a hymn and they sang with me as if they had sung it all their lives. “How Great thou Art” who led me to these hidden souls when blessed me with my wandering soul, never satisfied to just look at the outside.
The people couldn’t thank me enough and I told them to thank Jesus, the one who sent me, and I cried with them. I left telling them I’d be back and I did return for many weeks, telling them all about the God they had spent so many years searching for. The God who had been right there in their midst all along. It didn’t take much time before they decided to burn their other gods ceremoniously on one glorious night. This, I knew, was where I belonged, just beyond where most are willing to go, all to find God’s hidden souls.
