I don't want to sound like I turn everything in my life into some higher spiritual example, but I can honestly say I had no convictions in going to the Woods of Terror.
I know the Lord gives us liberties to do certain things, that others may have convictions in not doing.
With that being said, I haven't been to a haunted house in about 12 years. I really was not looking forward to going, but Rodney had this sudden urge to make me live on the edge or something. haha
We gathered some friends and made plans to go. We started the evening with dinner at Don Juan's, I didn't have much of an appetite (it may have been my nerves).
Then off we went heading to Greensboro all packed together in The Rover. My stomach was getting more and more uneasy the closer we got to our destination, and I was getting more and more mad. Why was I so worked up about this? Come on Deanna, you are 28 years old, quit being a baby!
When we pulled in and parked I started to feel a bit better and more optimistic. We went through the admission line, got our tickets and got our numbers. We had a bit of a wait before our number group could go through the woods. They had a little village set up in the "waiting area", where we could roam around. They had a gift shop, and couple bonfires going, some cute little games and smaller attractions, a restaurant, a scary moving showing on a big white board, photo booths with scary actors, etc.
I was thankful this at least happened before we got on the trail and before there were no bathrooms in sight. After I stumbled out of the outhouse, covered in hand sanitizer, I again felt optimistic again.
Our number was called and we got in line...no turning back now. We started through this large dark tunnel, where as soon as I walked in Ryan screamed really loud (to nothing) which caused a chain reaction to me screaming. I though to myself...this is going to be fun. Screams and giggles, right?
We proceeded to the next room where there were a ton of big fake spiders and cobwebs...no big deal. Nice open room, kind of dark, but nothing too crazy. Then we were led into a bright hallway with a ton of aquariums filled with iguanas, lizards, large snakes....ehh kind of cute. Then I peek over Rodney's shoulder and I see a guy at the end of the hallway holding a smaller snake. NOT COOL! He was at the corner of the hallway, so I pushed Rodney in between me and the guy and used Rodney as a shield. I didn't make a sound. I thought I had conquered sneaking by.
These guys must go through great training because he spotted me and knew I was the most fearful. He made his way through two people and pushed the snake towards my face and I started screaming. At that moment the lights went off and everyone around us was pushing and screaming.
Rodney and I were between Ryan and Jackie and Justin and Bethany...which gave me some ease. But then the air started getting stuffy and I was panicking and having a hard time breathing. Rodney kept telling me to calm down. I took a second and took a deep, slow breath and told myself to relax....it worked for two seconds.
I had a death grip onto Rodney and I was hunched down stuffed in under his arm pit. There was this tight blow up tunnel thing we had to push ourselves through. This was the worst part. It was really tight, and soft and felt like the walls were closing in on me, I couldn't breath.
I am severely claustrophobic, I have been since I was a young child. This tunnel is what did me in. Rodney ended up literally pulling me through it and I tripped and fell and lost my grip on him. Keep in mind it is still pitch black. This is when the tears started flowing. He felt around for me and picked me up and I resumed my grasp on him. It felt like the dark tunnel was never going to end. There were tight spots where we were in a near crawl just to get through. Most of the time my eyes were tightly shut. I would open them occasionally to see if it was still dark and a strobe would flash where I would see snakes in my face. I shut my eyes again and held on tightly to Rodney. I felt things brush against my face and neck and knew they were rubber snakes. Yes, they are fake but still not cool considering I can't even look at the rubber snakes in the toy aisle at Dollar Tree.
I was shocked at myself because I was crying, but it was a cry I have never cried before. The tunnel finally broke open into the cold, crisp air where we were immediately chased by a guy with a chainsaw. He was literally a breath of fresh air considering what I just went through.
I couldn't do no more. I can handle blood, guts, and zombies chasing me in the open air through the woods. But I could not handle going through something like that tunnel again and I had no idea what else was in store. I told Rodney I couldn't go. We walked up to the chainsaw guy and Rodney told him that I wanted out. He lead me over to a hidden emergency exit and I told Rodney to go with the rest and finish.
As soon as I was out the trap door, I threw up in the woods. I felt incredibly weak. The chainsaw guy saw me and came over to me to help me. And he finished walking me to the exit and back into the waiting area.
I felt like a complete failure and idiot. Again, I am 28 years old and I can't even handle this? What is wrong with me? I use to laugh through Haunted Houses, and now I am barfing in the woods..?
I sat down in the corner, on the porch of the restaurant where no one would bother me. It was near the exit of the woods. A few people glanced at me, as they could tell something was wrong.
I watched as people came running out of the exit screaming, laughing, swearing, falling..etc. I was still mad at myself. I sat there a long time while I waited for Rodney and the rest to come out.
I had a long time to just think and people watch. I love people watching...but this particular time was not fun. I looked at this little make shift village and my mind could not help but draw a parallel to Sodom and Gomorrah. It was dark, loud and very busy. There was a D.J. playing loud music the entire time, people hanging around the bonfires, a guy with a sky high mohawk holding a large yellow boa constrictor. There was also people groping each other and making out right in front of me. There was lots of laughter and lots of screams.
Being that it's the day after, I am still very confused as to why my body reacted the way it did. I wasn't really scared, I was terrified. The place wasn't scary at all. The chainsaw guys and people dressed up were not scary really. It was that dark, stuffy tunnel that I had no idea when it was going to end that terrified me. I only had one way out, and it was to grasp onto to Rodney. He was my savior, when I fell he picked me up, when I was crying he comforted me, he told me when to duck and when to turn, and he told me when it was ok to open my eyes.
I also thought about that tunnel and drew a parallel to God telling us that the pathway to heaven is straight and narrow. Narrow is an understatement when describing this tunnel. If I had a choice between that tunnel and a wide open path, I would run for the wide open path in a heart beat!
But I had a Savior leading me through it. Without Christ and the Holy Spirit, staying on the straight and narrow would be impossible. If I didn't have Rodney, I would have froze, fell to the floor and resumed the fetal position screaming my head off for help. I wouldn't have turned back because of the guy with the snake and I wouldn't have pushed forward either.
Although that tunnel only lasted maybe 2 minutes, it felt like a life time, and I couldn't help but to thank the Lord that those 2 minutes will be the closest to hell I see. I thanked the Lord for my salvation, that I won't have to spend an eternity in hell. I think Satan knows what we fear, he can sense our weakness, and just like that guy with the snake that picked me out of the crowd as the quiet one that thought she was strategically slipping by. He hunted me out and knew I was the one to get.
I know there were other believers there that night, but I also know there were many unbelievers there as well. It mad me sad to see the unbelievers laughing and having fun. Hell is not going to be an awesome attraction that gives you an hour adrenaline rush. It's an eternity of terrifying torture!
I am not sure if a Haunted House will be crossed off my to do list forever, but all I know is that those 2 minutes will haunt me for the rest of my life. But I am also thankful for the Lord taking that time to show me some things, and those things will be with me forever too.
1 comment:
I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. :( But at least you were able to glean some truths from it! Just for the record, I HATE scary stuff and I would have never made it through the entrance!
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