“Darkness was upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2)
Frantically Allen pedaled his bike down the tree-lined lane near the shore of Lake Superior. He was trying to get home before the black storm clouds broke and drenched him. He usually enjoyed the ten-minute bike ride from his high school in the small town of Silver Bay, Minnesota. But today he was running late, just ahead of a major storm, because of wrestling practice and his determination to do his best to win the regional championship and a college scholarship.
“Whew, made it! What a bummer of a day!” he mumbled under his breath as he stumbled into the safety of his garage. He slammed the garage door, opened the one leading into the hallway, and made his daily sprint to the kitchen. On his way he tossed his jacket into the hall closet, pitched his knapsack onto a shelf, and gave himself a thumbs up for making it inside before the monster storm hit.
He peered out the window above the kitchen sink and eyed the murky clouds rolling in from the lake. Often his family had watched numerous storms propelled inland from this giant lake. Frequently they were fascinated by how the wind drove the waves and watched in awe as they crashed into the huge boulders along the shore line then exploded into a drenching spray. Every so often a storm would be so intense that just for fun the whole family would put on their rain gear or bathing suits [depending on the time of year] and challenge each other to see who could stand the most drenching from the “soakers.” It was great fun.
But something was different about this storm. The clouds were blacker than he had ever seen, the waves were higher, the crashing more explosive, the wind really intense, causing the clouds to spin and swirl in patterns he had never seen before. As he watched with great interest, he spotted one cloud churning and forming into what reminded him of a huge black lurking creature. Were those red eyes and an evil grin lurking in the center of that blackness?
“Get your act together; it’s your wild imagination,” he thought. Then “Hey, I sound like my dad! He’s always accusing me of having a vivid imagination.” Then the ominous cloud quickly vanished and more threatening clouds swirled into place.
Just then another typical teen comment surfaced in his mind, that would challenge any storm—“I’m hungry!” Years of habit kicked in and he turned to the refrigerator, poured a glass of milk, then reached inside the cookie jar on the kitchen counter for his favorite treat. For as long as he could remember, his mother had always made sure she left a special after-school snack for Allen and Susan, his younger sister. For a split second a weird thought crossed his mind as he wondered if he would miss them when he went off to college.
“One-two-three-four. That should do for now.”
Crack! A deafening crash of thunder cut short his reflection. As the wind screamed louder and louder, he realized this storm was unusual and getting too extreme for comfort. A brilliant blinding white light lit up the whole house, followed by another ear-splitting detonation of thunder, causing the whole building to tremble and the lights to flicker.
Then—blackness!
Allen became aware of his heart beating wildly within his chest. Even though it was only mid-afternoon, the place was black as midnight, even blacker! Allen couldn’t see anything, not even his hand in front of his face.
“This is not normal,” he thought. He inched his way across the room, feeling the wall for guidance. Not a glimmer of light penetrated the darkness, not even the neighbors’ lights or the beacon across the bay. He couldn’t even see the tall television tower with its blinking lights that always invaded the night sky.
Staring into this sea of obscurity he heard himself murmur, “What’s going on?” Of course, there was no answer—just blackness.
Allen wished his parents were home. They had both taken the day off work to visit his aunt, who was in the hospital in a nearby city. Then a new sense of anxiety surfaced. “Susan, where the heck are you?” he wondered. His younger sister’s bus should have been here long ago. “I sure hope she’ll be okay in this storm,” he worried.
“Man,” he thought, “this is wild. How will I even find my way around with no lights?” Then he remembered, “Hey, I’ve got that cool flashlight plugged into the wall socket up in my bedroom—the one Aunt Cheryl gave me for Christmas last year. The battery will give a great light until the charge runs out. I’ve got to get it!”
As Allen turned in what he thought was the direction of the stairs, he was startled by a dim glow at the top even though the power was out. All kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind—from some alien creature from outer space to a possible visitor from the spirit world. “Those séances at Stacey’s house are giving me wild ideas,” he thought. “I should quit going to them.”
As the wind continued to howl and the house creaked, ebony shadows seemed to dance in the darkness with menacing gestures. “I’ve got to get up those stairs,” he told himself. He mustered up enough courage to begin the climb. From years of experience, he knew there were exactly thirteen steps. Lightning flashes gave him brief glimmers of illumination. Allen counted each step aloud, “One- two- three- four- five- six- seven.” He froze as another jarring thunderclap shook the house. The thought lodged in his brain, “I hope it’s still standing when my folks get here.”
Now he heard something new—the sound of rushing water filled the air. As another lightning bolt lit up the outdoors, Allen spotted the largest breaker he had ever seen silhouetted in the flash. It was leaping up and over the shoreline, about to crash into the house!
“Oh, God, please help me!” he cried out.
Allen had heard people pray before. He even heard some people say how God had answered their prayers. Some other folks said they didn't believe in God at all. Allen had his doubts about God too. He had listened to people talk about God’s love and all that religious stuff but even at his age, when he looked at the world it made him wonder how that worked. He felt it raised more questions than answers for him. His life was pretty busy right now and he figured he had plenty of time to sort things out when he got older. So God hadn’t been high on his priority list at this time in his life. However, right now that was suddenly changing and that short prayer appeared not only important, but the only thing to do.
Allen raced up the rest of the stairs, knowing he needed to get to higher ground before that colossal wave battered the house. At the top of the stairs, he noticed that the frightening illumination was coming from his room! He took a deep breath, summoned up all the courage he could, and peered in. It was just his flashlight! “Duh—of course.” He quickly grabbed it and with no time to do anything else he crouched in a corner and waited to hear that huge gush slam into his house.
…
Suddenly an eerie silence filled the room. Allen sat very still, afraid to move. The silence continued. All he could hear were the sounds of his own breathing and the thumping of his heart that was threatening to burst open his chest. His mind raced with questions. “Is the storm over? Is this a pause just before the final crushing explosion of the wave? Where is that wave? Am I dead? Should I try moving?” He wiggled his fingers and toes. He didn’t feel any pain; no broken bones.
Then his mood seemed to change. The fear and anxiety were suddenly gone. He was filled with an unfamiliar peace. “Strange,” he thought. But that was a good word to describe this reversal in his thoughts.
Cautiously, but deliberately, Allen crept out of his room and headed down the stairs. At this point the silence was actually peaceful, but it was also scary at the same time. This was a first time experience for sure. He slowly beamed his light all around the living room. Everything seemed all right. Following his beam, he proceeded down the hall toward the kitchen; everything seemed fine there too. He inched over to the dining room window and stopped, turning out his flashlight. As the darkness enveloped him, a new panic gripped him. “Whoa! I sure hope this flashlight doesn’t run out of juice, or I’m in big trouble.”
Allen had never experienced such intense blackness before. It seemed like he could feel and even taste the darkness.