Beauty and Solitude

On this warm Sunday afternoon, I hopped on my little blue bike and pedaled wherever my legs and the little bike could take me. I was starting to feel suffocated by people. I don't think Kansans were meant to live in gigantic Chinese cities.

Anyway, I rolled out through the front gate, and merged into the stream of other bicyclists and mopeds. I passed lots of pigs, random goats, chickens, and cows along the way, as I headed to the outskirts of the city. I also slowly biked past countless miniature plots of land where families planted their vegetable gardens right up against new apartment buildings being built.

After about 15 or 20 minutes, I arrived at the long, narrow park that cuts across a huge lake. It's like a little oasis right in the midst of a frenzy of activity and development. As soon as my bike tires hit the park, all the city sounds began to fade. Today there were only a few children, some old fishermen, and young couples meandering about.

I just kept biking until my knees began to hurt. I found a perfect spot overlooking the lake. It was also down off the path enough that nobody could tell I was a foreigner. There I sat on a grassy patch, in the midst of tall, wispy trees. The city traffic was only a faint murmur, and I just heard an occasional person creak by on a rusty bicycle. The only other sounds were stillness and the water lapping near my feet.

The stillness and beauty overwhelmed me. I read that your heart kind of dries up when you are never around nature or never feel solitude. So I immediately felt my heart being revived. It was just me and the Father sitting under the bright blue sky and on the faded green grass.

I thought to Him for a little bit, but I mostly just listened and reveled in this rare opportunity in the middle of a heavily industrialized and developing Chinese city.

Here are some pictures from the park, just to give you a glimpse. Have a restful Sabbath!