The day began with subdued, but very real excitement. I was in Shenzhen, China and had identified a possible trail running route. After a good breakfast, I changed into my running clothes and jumped into a taxi. My research had identified a place called Wutong Mountain-Butterfly Trail. The taxi dropped me at the base of an archway leading into the Wutong Mountain area.
Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
he is my steadfast love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield and he in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.
O Lord, what is man that you regard him,
or the son of man that you think of him?
Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.
Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!
Touch the mountains so that they smoke!
[Psalm 144:1-5 ESV]
According to my notes this was the correct location, but I saw no trail. There was only a paved road heading up the mountain. “Ok,” I thought, “Not what I expected, but let's get moving.” I hit the start button on my watch, ran through the archway, and on up the road. This mountain area was beautiful, and I understood why they call it a butterfly mountain. Butterflies were everywhere - many colors and sizes. How would I ever convey this to others? In my devotions this morning, dear old Spurgeon had quoted Deuteronomy 5:24, “The Lord our God hath shewed us his glory.” I was beginning to see His radiance even as I began my ascent of Wutong Mountain along an uninspiring roadway. The overlooks were becoming increasingly breathtaking. At some point, a trail appeared on my left. I immediately followed it off into the green foliage. At this point, I found that my “trail” was paved, as well. It was paved in cut stone, flat along level and modest changes up or down. However, anything more severe than a 3-5 degree shift was finished as a cut stone stairway. There were a few exceptions to this, where a cascade of boulders provided a natural stairway, or a massive root structure provided an interesting means of climbing and ascending vertically to the trail section above. But for the most part – stone all along the trail portions. So, I followed the trail that I had found that had meandered off to my left. Eventually, this spilled back onto the paved road and I continued my climb. Although the road was just a road, the surrounding views were unbelievably beautiful.
of the way up. Here I saw the final ascent to bring me near the summit, and many more stairs to climb, seemingly stairs without number. I just set my mind to climb, and maintained a steady rhythm. Who had laid all these stairs? It boggled my mind. The rain was increasing even more, and was coming down hard. As I neared the summit I could feel the roar of thunder and see lightening flash. I was growing a little concerned. I reached the end of the stairs and made my way onto a level area very near the summit. Here I found “The Heavenly Pond”. It was a small pond with a large boulder in the center and an inscription. I snapped a picture to document how far I'd come, and decided to descend quickly in the growing storm that was swirling around. Just at this moment, I encountered three Chinese young men who had come up behind me on the stairs. They were drenched and looked alarmed by the wild, crazy weather all around us - the thunder and lightening, and hard driving rain. I yelled through the storm and said we needed get moving down the infinite stairs that we had just climbed, and head off the mountain. I took off down and they followed. Eventually they faded in the distance behind me.
I thought back to Spurgeon. For this morning he had written,
Thank God, then, if you have been led by a rough road: it is this which has given you your experience of God’s greatness and lovingkindness. Your troubles have enriched you with a wealth of knowledge to be gained by no other means: your trials have been the cleft of the rock in which Jehovah has set you, as he did his servant Moses, that you might behold his glory as it passed by. Praise God that you have not been left to thedarkness and ignorance which continued prosperity might have involved, but that in the great fight of affliction, you have been capacitated for the outshinings of his glory in his wonderful dealings with you.
[Morning and Evening – Morning July 11, Charles Spurgeon]
I had made my plans for a trail run on Wutong Mountain, but God had chosen to delightfully interrupt my designs His own. He wanted me to see His glory – the flutter of butterfly wings, a rising mist, the gentle rain, and then thunder and lightening atop Wutong Mountain itself. I had seen and felt the wonder and power of my glorious, holy Lord. What a day, and what a run to remember.
Friend, I'm running the trails. I'm hoping we meet along the way. I'll look for the glory of God in your eyes, and the way you love a storm and flutter of a butterfly's wing. Run hard and run true, my friend. I'll be right along.
After my experiences on Tuesday, I wrote a little poem about running Wutong Mountain through mist and rain as a gift to my students this week.
We climbed the cut stone steps, old natural stone pathways, hopping numerous streams and roots, chasing our excitement for 3:44 hours, covering 7.95 miles, ascending 5777 and descending 5668 feet. Our faces were covered in smiles and laughter. Midway we stopped on a broad plaza (that I had crossed above earlier in the week). One of my companions woke a shopkeeper she knew and purchased orange juice for each of us as a reward for reaching this point. Each of us drank this with a very thankful heart. It was the perfect refreshment. As the hours and miles drifted past, we shared our mutual joys, struggles, and challenges as followers of Christ Jesus. We celebrated through our running and endurance, and we each shared that our joy seemed to grow deeper and richer – even in life's hard struggles. For me, it was wonderful to encounter two sisters in the Lord, to celebrate our shared faith, and to encourage each other along life's trail. At last, we completed our run, and my dear companions treated me to a fantastic noodles lunch in a favorite restaurant of theirs right in the village near Wutong. The noodles were made as I watched, and the meal was eaten as the shop owner watched. We loved the food. It was incredible! A shared run, a shared meal, and shared faith and love of God – this had truly been a memorable day. 
