With this weeks upcoming Active Project trip down Smallcleugh mine, it seemed a good time to revisit a thought for the week from back in summer 2013.

For any of you who have been mining with me in the past few years, you will undoubtedly have experienced the Polo mint experiment.

Mines, when you get deep down are completely void of any light. They are one of the darkest of places you can find on Earth and no matter how long you sit there without a light source, your eyes will never adjust. I once read that your eyes take approximately forty minutes to fully adjust to darkness (not sure how true this is but it sounds good to me), however no matter how long you sit in this environment your eyes will never pick out any light. It is a strange and humbling experience to be unable even to see your own hand in front of your face.

In this environment we often get group members to snap a Polo mint in front of their eyes, which causes a small spark of light. In any other place this would be almost impossible to see.

For me this is a great way to think about life as a Christian. Jesus said he is the light of the world.

If Jesus is the light, I think we are the Polo mints of the world.

As Christians we often think of showing Christianity to others as bringing light into the darkness. This can often be as simple as living a Christian lifestyle and setting a good example. We may think that what we do is small and insignificant, but as we can see from the humble Polo mint, even the smallest spark can bring light into someone’s life.

– Graham