A Place of Solitude

With sixty degree temperatures and sunny skies, I couldn't help but pull my bike out today and go for a nice long ride. Ok, it was just under fourteen miles which isn't really long, but I haven't ridden in months and my bottom feels like it was a forty mile ride, so long we'll call it.

We live near a lake which is lined with parks, providing me with beautiful places to run and ride. It was along these trails that I wrestled my bike up hills and along tree lined paths. Not a particularly rough ride, I chose it for the distance, but mostly for the scenery. The lake, this time of year, tinged with the golden light of a setting sun, makes me forget the burning in my thighs as I pedal up yet another incline.

And then there's that one spot, about half way along my course. It's a bit of land that juts out into a cove of the lake. The trees come out of the water and in the evening, the sun turns all the water a beautiful red gold, and the trees are lined in light. On the tiny peninsula, there is a single bench, facing the water. The park path runs behind this and there is a road that can be seen from the bench, if one were inclined to tear their gaze from the spectacular light show flitting across the water.

During my evening rides, the path is a busy one. There are runners and walkers and dogs and kids and cyclists. Most are whizzing by, with nary a glance at the majesty of what is playing out in the sky, along the trees, and on the lake. Then, there are the mornings. Early morning rides during which the place is one of solitude. You can sit and reflect on God's glory, and wrap yourself in His peace. It is a place where the busyness of daily life is washed away in the oranges, golds, and blazing reds of a sun that chases the bluish purple hues of dawn into another day. It is a place I long to sit in for a moment of quiet, meditation, reflection.

Sounds lovely, doesn't it? I paused along today's ride, with every intent of photographing this little piece of heaven so I could share it with all of you. Then, I changed my mind. I wanted to protect this not so secret hideaway, keep it private. But even more than that, I wanted each of you to see it in your mind's eye, to paint it with the hues that bring you peace, to imagine the silence wrapping itself lovingly around you.

Here's to a beautiful place of solitude.

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