Seeking Cave Moments Can Help with Stress

There is a faculty restroom down the hall from my classroom. It is a simple room with a toilet, sink, mirror and a hand dryer; a place where my colleagues and I answer the call to nature. The walls are concrete block and painted white. No pictures adorn the small room. I have called it, "the cave" before, yet it truly can be a place of haven.

The famous western writer, Louis L'Amour, had this quote about caves in his short story, Skull and the Arrow: "...he saw the opening of a cave. He turned to it for shelter, as men have always done. Though there are tents, wickiups, halls and palaces, in his direst needs man always returns to the cave." Although I've yet to have a truly dire situation at work, I do enjoy the occasional retreat to our "cave." You can lock the door and have seclusion. No phones will suddenly ring, no one will ask for requests, and no one can enter. It is just you and yourself for a few moments of thought and reflection before you take a deep breath (do this with caution in the restroom) and step back out into the chaos.

A lot of people crave and rave the mountaintop experiences which are great, but those cave moments can be very positive as well. The caverns not only provide solitude for prayer and pondering, but also protection from the elements, both human and natural. You can get rested, refreshed, and reorganized. The cave played a role for King David in his early years as he eluded Saul. Even the boy who struck down a giant still needed these moments of cover. Don't we all?

Unlike our white restroom, real caves are beautiful underground worlds and an awesome addition to God's already spectacular creation. I can testify to that being from Missouri, also known as the Cave State (over 5,000 discovered). Not only should the splendor of these caverns be noted, but their comfort must be stressed again as well. When the winter is cold, the cave will provide warmth; when the summer heat rules the outside world, the cave will provide a welcoming chill. An example of this happened a couple of summers ago. My young son and I took a brief walk on this one Ozark trail that led down into a hollow and into an entrance to a cave. The air outside was extremely warm and humid, but as you approached the cave, it completely changed. It was like crossing a line, from warm to cool. As we found relief in the cool environment, we almost dreaded having to go back up into the intense world above us. But after getting refreshed, we did. This even adds to our illustration the positives that cave experiences can provide, physically and emotionally. So periodically take cover. You will thank yourself for it.