Wild Crazy Pulsing Glories

At precisely 7:14am this morning I trotted out of the neighborhood heading for Birch Island Park. Yup, the hills and trails were calling to me and I needed to respond. I had been missing them these last few weeks. This was all pretty amazing given the fact that a few days back as I bent over to put a sock on my right foot one morning, I felt a little pain in my lower back. Oops. And since then I’d been hobbling around in pain. Oh well, a run will help me shake this off, shake everything back into the right place. There is nothing like a good run to set things right. I love a runner’s logic – so simple and uncomplicated.

Anyway, there I was this morning moving out into the bright sunshine and 40F with just a whisper of a breeze. I had intentionally left my tunes back at the house so that I could take in the whole morning with full force. Part of me was reaching for that deep, quiet place of worship, the delight and wonderment of spirit, a hushed and gentle pursuit of the Lord, my heart yearning wildly for Him. Yet part of me was taking in the full sensory impact and overload of being in the woods on a spring morning with every twinkle of light, every blade of grass, every pulsing green moss bed, every bud and branch and bird and squirrel and rabbit and, every living, breathing thing radiating life anew and energy. It is spring and the forest is alive and full of praise. I could not miss the glory. All shrouded in golden light, in this awakening to new life; a glorious display in every direction for as far as my eye could see. Breathe deep, I said, and open your eyes wide. There is a message of hope written across this springtime brilliance. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” [Psalm 37:4] Oh, I could almost taste the wonder. And I could feel the freedom and wild crazy desire to run. And run I did; up and down the trails and through the woods, the branches, the brush; so much to take in. And my longing for a deep, quiet place of worship had mingled into the super-charged excitement and glory of everything alive around me. And there I was to soak it all up like a helpless, glory-drenched soul enjoying God, almost leaping from my skin, as I traveled along on my little run in the morning sun quite beside myself. God is so faithful.

In all I put down a reasonable 7.38 miles in 1 hour 45 minutes, ascending 1844 feet and descending 1852. This was enough of a workout as I taper down into a race in several weeks. I’ll repeat this in a similar manner in a day or so. For now, though, I will just remember God. I will recall His pulsing glories and the wild energy of loving Him without boundaries. And I will remember that there is a quiet place folded into our most exciting times. This is where we can rest in Him. This is where I can worship. I pray that I may I run hard and true. Hold me, Lord.