Moonlit Ride

I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. John 12:46 (NIV)

Andrea belongs to a horseback riding club, and every weekend, they go for a group ride. This weekend’s ride was a moonlight ride in an equestrian community, and because her husband was going to a car race, she invited me to go along. I love riding by moonlight when it is a full moon so eagerly accepted. A woman hosted the event at her house and after stuffing ourselves at a covered dish dinner, a group of about twenty five riders headed out into the night. At first, we stayed along the roads. There were no streetlights, but the moon was so bright that we could see very easily. Then, some got bored with staying on the road and suggested we head off onto the trails that go through the woods. It got a little scary because the moon’s light did not penetrate through the trees. It was very, very dark. Though some of the riders were carrying flashlights which they would briefly shine ahead of us and we had decked our horses out with necklaces made of glow sticks so we could see each other, I had to order myself to relax and let Trucker find his way. His eyes were better prepared for the dark than mine, and he picked his way along the trail quite well. Until we can to a water crossing that required going down a steep ravine across a creek and back up again. I think he would have done it without any problems except one of the rider ahead of us stopped and shined her flashlight down into the ravine to help some others across. Just as Trucker began to make his descent, she turned off her light and we plunged into darkness. Deep, black darkness. He panicked and spun around and tried to go back up but another horse blocked his way. We spun in circles several times as he tried to find a way to escape and at one point, I thought he was going to jump the fence alongside the path. Finally, I calmed him and allowed another rider to go ahead of me hoping he would follow her, but he was determined, he was not going forward and only backwards back into the moon light again. Then, I heard a voice from behind me. “Hang on, I’m coming with a light.” Another rider came up with a flashlight and stood her horse beside us. She shined the light down into the ravine and Trucker found his courage once more. I cannot express how grateful I was for her assistance. It reminded me of how easy it is for me to make the journey through life when I can see where I am going. When the way is unclear and uncertain, like Trucker, I do not want to go on. Jesus has come to give me light and even more importantly, a relationship with Him. He walks with me, so I am not alone even on the darkest of nights.