Well, God surely knows the heart's true desire and thus about 1/2 half mile up the road from that point was an entrance into a national park full of trails. I was a bit scared to enter as I knew nothing about the trails or where they took you, but I did enter with hesitation thinking of just running on the main trail for a while.
Not very long into the run I came up to a few runners out on a morning run. I asked them where they were from, and they were locals so I said, "Where does this trail lead?" One of the guys I met was Scott and he was the director of the San Deigo 100 mile race; he told me that one of the trails led to the peak of the the mountain. Immediately I recalled my thought about a mile back when I was taking the picture. I thought, "WOW that would be cool!" Scott told me to follow them as they were on that same route. I texted Julie to tell her I would be longer than I thought but that I had an opportunity to go to the top of a mountain.
With that in mind I started up the mountainside. The trail was a switchback trail used to keep the incline to a minimum, and as I started I had my road runner's mentality and tried to keep up an 8-9 minute mile pace. That was short lived as I soon realized that with the increase in elevation keeping a steady and slower pace was in order!
As I continued to climb higher and higher I stopped periodically and admired the view. How beautiful and perfect the world looked from that perspective! I would look out over the land and I could see for miles around me. From that perspective I felt really, really small and I got a better perspective of just how truly big God is! Suddenly I realized that everything in the world was under God's control and truly a rather large burden seemed to be lifted off my shoulders. I realized at that moment that all I had to do was be myself and give my best and God would take care of the rest.
I reached the first plateau of the mountain where there was a lake called Lake Poway. Instantly I thought of Psalm 104 where the Psalmist writes that God held the waters above the mountains and at His rebuke released them to flow down the mountains into their place. I was in the middle of the mountains, none of them were above 5000 feet so no snow was there to keep the lake full - only rain and God's right hand!
I said to myself, "Self, how great is our God?" And my self replied, "Too Great!"
As I continued from that point I noticed a ton more hikers and runners on the trails, all of them admiring the beauty and awesomeness of this incredible creation. I thought, "I wonder who these people think created all of this? Do they believe that God is the creator of all things or do they believe that all this happened by accident?" These are questions that baffle me and to many that may read this, I am sure you will give me your scientific proof (that is not complete), however, I choose to believe that God is the creator.
Coming from Ohio it is not typical that you get an opportunity to run in the mountains and I wanted to take in this whole experience. I stopped many times, one to rest but more often the stop would be to take in the view and spend a few momments with God in prayer. My prayers were for so many things. I prayed for friends and their family members, I prayed for my wife, my kids, my dad, I prayed for all those that do not know or cannot give their heart, mind, and soul to God. From my perspective nothing seemed impossible for God, so my prayers were BIG! It was not the "blessed be with" prayers. You know the ones where you ask God to bless Bobby and be with Joey? No, my prayers were for things to change and to happen!
I find that being in these situations helps me take God out of the box I tend to put Him in and helps me see Him for who He is! The creator, provider, healer, and friend.
As you can imagine my prayers that day were a bit large and right away He answered one of them by getting me to the top of the mountain without injurying myself. As I reach this point I took a moment to let it all soak in and a tear came to my eye. I was filled with awe and wonder just thinking about the place I came from: 311 pounds, high blood pressure, on the verge of a heart attack, and yet this day God made it possible for me to climb this mountian! Why? Did I do anything to deserve His favor? Am I not a sinner? Nope, I did nothing He blessed me and hopefully I will glorify Him! That to me is amazing grace!
As I came down the mountain I fully started to realize the height from which I was coming down. It was hard to keep running as my body was being thrust down the mountain side and at times I thought I was going to trip! I kept saying to myself, "Pick up your feet..." As I started to get to the bottom, I once again worried about getting out of the trail area without getting lost. I ran into a fork in the road and was a bit confused, but within a few seconds a group of hikers came by and steered me in the right direction (another indication that God was with me.) As I exited the park and ran back down the hill to the hotel, I was moved to tears once again just thinking about how this run started off. I just wanted to get in 12-13 miles on the road. I ended up with 16 miles and a trip to the top of the mountain!
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