The day can be a beautifully sunny and warm summer day, even as we descend the (what seems to be) infinite number of steps.  Excitedly we walk along, following our guide, trusting that he knows the way, and more importantly, the way out once we have seen the beauty.  The coolness becomes a coldness, one that when standing still and not walking cold just become an uncomfortable coldness, especially if we came unprepared without a jacket (as instructed on the literature).
A day of spelunking can bring so much enlightenment.  We can learn geology as the park ranger shares about the natural formations and the creatures that only know how to survive so far underground. 
We can learn history as the park ranger shares about the first explorers thousands of years ago, discussing how they explored the passageways with candles, and thankful we are led by flashlights and even see the electric guide lights positioned along the base of the walkway. 
We also learn sociology, as we learn about the people who first explored, who first walked where we now walk.  If we are even more adventurous, we can enjoy a “crawling” journey and descend even further down into this deep cavern God has blessed us to explore.
Sydney and I did that one day, a beautifully bright and sunny day.  We traveled to Carter Caves because Sheila offered us a day of exploring, a day of “crawling exploring.”
This cave system (at least where we entered that day) was not as advanced with electric lighting as Mammoth Cave, so we carried flashlights and also placed hardhats on our heads, those with lights strapped on the hats to reveal the way.

“Wear your old clothing, ones that can get dirty,” Sheila prompted.  So we did.  Sydney and set off one Saturday morning, headed east across I64 toward Grayson, KY.  Darrell was deployed and I was left in charge of Sydney’s safety.  She was small, an elementary school age (whatever was Darrell thinking…leaving me in charge).
Sheila gave some basic instructions before we began, the simple details like Stay Close, Do Not Stray Away, and Crawl in A Single-file Line (with Sheila crawling in the lead).
Now who was this Sheila, we might wonder, and how can we ever trust that she knows the path to lead us into the cave AND the way to lead us back to civilization once this exploration was complete.
If we were of some other cultures, we may not have fully followed and trusted this “sheila” (this girl) because we did not even pause to see her cave spelunking papers, those credentials that may have plainly said, “Follow her. She knows the way.”  No, we just listened to the basic instructions, grabbed our jackets and flashlights, and walked into the mouth of the cave.  Thankfully, Sheila WAS her real “adult” name, and she assured us she had plunked here before, training with the park system as a guide.
So, we trusted her and began walking, going as far as we could, walking until we were forced down upon our hands and knees to crawl, and eventually descending down upon our stomachs (crawling) because suddenly the ceiling became so much closer.

“Stay close. Stay in a straight line,” Sheila voiced over her shoulder.
We had to follow the sound of her voice because the darkness permeated the cavern, with shadows only dancing along the walls as we crawled arms first with the flashlights illuminating the way, as we pulled along our bodies through those few inches of head-room.  ‘I am so glad we are wearing hardhats,’ I remember thinking. More than a hundred times (it seemed), I bumped my head.
In Mammoth Cave, there is a time during the walking trail when the park ranger speaks of the early explorers and what they may have faced as they walked through the pitch black into the cave with only a candlelight showing the way. (I am sure they prayed for plenty of wax & oxygen & heat to keep their candles burning bright.
In Mammoth Cave, the group stands perfectly still as the cavern is suddenly plunged into darkness.  In the dark, when there is no light source shining, our eyes are wide open, and we see the darkness with a wide-open clarity.

The Bible also speaks of the “dark” of the darkness and the “light” revealed only through the Person of Jesus.  But do not believe me; instead, read with me.

“Even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to you.

(Psalm 139: 12)

“I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, in paths they do not know I will guide them.
I will make darkness into light before them and rugged places into plains.
These are the things I will do, and I will not leave them undone.”

(Isaiah 42: 16)

“He, your Teacher, will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher.
Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.”

(Isaiah 30: 20-21)

Just because we do not know the way does not mean that there is no way.  Truly, God prepared a Way and then God sent Jesus to reveal to us the Way.
Again, do not believe me (ever) but read God’s Word with me.

“Thomas said to Him [to Jesus], “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how do we know the way?”
Jesus said to him [to Thomas], “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through me.”

(John 14: 5-6)

And again….

“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.”

(1 John 1: 4)

God is so capable of showing us, of leading us in the dark.  God reveals how to walk in the Way because to Him—dark is the same as light—He never dwells in darkness. 
That day, back when Sydney was a child, we survived and eventually crawled back toward the mouth of the cave.  We trusted Sheila; yes for sure, she could have led us astray or became lost (there in that deep cavern), but we survived to live another day.
Sydney grew up to attend Vacation Bible School, where, one summer evening, she met Jesus, the True Light of the world. I continually praise God for that assurance!
Yes, it is a fact, we can trudge through this life two ways:

We can walk in the daylight, blinded by the darkness of the world, even though our eyes are wide open.
OR
We can stop walking and turn around toward the Light of the world, toward Jesus our Savior.

He will lead us (the blind) who do not know the Way.
He will make the paths straight and guide our steps.
He will open our eyes so we can see Him.
He will “make darkness into light before them” (Isaiah 42: 16).

Today, may we point the lost and the blind toward the Light of the world, where their eyes may be opened and they will become saved.
May we show them today.
May we share God’s Word with them today.
May we love others as Jesus teaches us to love.