And We are Left Without Words

Sometimes in the course of our daily wanderings we stumble onto unexpected. Sometimes the radical, extravagant glories of the Lord just push out into our lives and shove other lesser things aside, and our very hearts tremble at His mercies to us in these startling times. We can have these illuminating moments in our hearts and minds, but I love it especially when it happens in His creation, in His physical world when He shakes us up with our eyes and we see extraordinary things. It was that way for me on Saturday as I laid down a 25K run in the Parque Natural Y Reserva Ecologica Costanera. After discovering the entry gate a few days before, I was fixed on getting a good run in among trees and brush instead of buildings and narrow streets. So there I was, a little after 8am in the morning ready to go. The park reserve maps posted on the signs gave me a feel for the layout of the place, and that was all I needed to slog on down the trail.

This park reserve is a vast, natural haven in the middle of a bustling Buenos Aires. It is a peaceful spot amid the rush of daily life and pressures. And so I plodded along soaking in the peaceful atmosphere, the smell of nature, the sound of water and birds, the trees and wild brush to my right and the vast waters of the Río de la Plata to my left. On my earlier trips to this city, I was cautioned not to proceed into this area of the city. But I realize now that those cautions apply after dark. During daylight hours, this park is a beautiful place to enjoy a special piece of God’s world. As I was running along I suddenly spotted a familiar sight – an agate! I bent down and kicked it out of the dirt. It was about 2 by 1.5 by .5 inches in size. Gosh, I thought, that’s cool! Well, I pocketed this little treasure as a souvenir and continued on my way. It wasn’t long before I was bending over again, and again, and again. Soon I realized that I could not pick up every agate that I saw, there were just too many. They were everywhere. This is so like God and His glories. Once our eyes are opened, we see His workings in everything, we see his glories abounding; we cannot possibility pick up every glory that He has left along our way. His wonders are too many for us. He overwhelms us with His manifold greatness and intricate beauties, and we are left without words; His glories scattered everywhere at our feet.

Amid these casual glories at my feet I ran for 3:31 hours and covered 15.42 miles (.08 short of 25K) for a not-so-blazing pace of 13.43 minutes per mile. To be honest, I was going along at a markedly easy pace knowing that I was going a little long for my current conditioning. I moved along easy for the joy of it. I’m not sure on the temperature, but it is winter in Argentina and it felt like the low 60s F. The sky was partly cloudy with an occasional misting and then a little sun. I have included pictures of the park, views and sights to give you some idea of God’s greatness. On these trails we run, we would miss so much of the beauty and wonder if we hurried; if we rushed and just squeezed it into our crammed calendars. It is a good thing to savor a place, to take our time and run at an easy pace, to see the stones at our feet. We need enough time to see God and His wonders as they display in a never-ending visual before us. Next time you’re out on the trails glance down and see if there are agates scattered at your feet; gems along the way to remind you of His glories and His wonder in world. Until then, run hard and true. Run for His glory. You may find that you are running in His glories, dancing along on a sea of beautiful things.