see the beauty

On the bike ride today, we noticed that the yùlán trees (magnolia) have lost their blossoms and have sprouted light green leaves. And the bright yellow yíngchūn (welcome spring – Krista’s favorites) have just about given up theirs as well. Everything is becoming greener and more vibrant.

More and more of the 20 million people who call Beijing home are out on the streets now. With the warmer temps, everyone can sit outside again, take long strolls and generally enjoy the outdoors. Before it was just the heartier types, now everyone can do it. Things change. God doesn’t – Yay!

On a precious clear day – when the AQI (air quality index) said “good,” we took the day off and went to the Summer Palace. We are blessed to live about 30 minutes bike ride from the gardens that once only served the emperor. It boasts a huge lake and beautiful tree-lined parks as well as a good-sized hill. We bought the cheap “gate-only ticket” which allowed us to wander the grounds – but not enter any of the buildings. We looked forward to a nice stroll along the lake to the grassy tree-filled area.

While it wasn’t a holiday yet, it was the Thursday before the May Day holiday. And it’s spring – flowers are everywhere. As such, we weren’t so surprised by the crowds that greeted us at the park. We arrived early to avoid most of the “you can’t go this way” crowds – but many tour buses were already there. Some of the people had never seen a foreigner and were quite enamored with Pres. Fortunately; all the school kids didn’t arrive until we were already on our way out. And they had already seen Pres before.

We got a little distracted by the “good-sized” hill – which for the moment had no people climbing it (think 10 minutes before people saw us and followed). We went to the top and found the rest of the people looking out over Beijing. They had taken the path. Looking over the Summer Palace lake – it was beautiful. As for the view of the 5^th ring road – we could only feel sorry for the people stuck in traffic. We had a fun time taking timed pictures in strategic places. It entertained us as well as the people filing past.

We went down the same way we came up to avoid the “temple” pathway that was filled with more than enough people. We continued on our way toward the trees that we knew were out there somewhere… we bought an ice cream, got hungry and ate our homemade sandwiches along the long painted corridor. It was good people watching.

We wound our way around to the Marble Boat that is under renovation. There were guards trying to keep people off the boat and ticket hawkers trying to get us to go to the “Old Town” along the canal. We kept moving enjoying the flowers and the nice breeze. It was perfect weather and even if it wasn’t quiet or devoid of other humans, we could see the beauty of all that God had created for us to enjoy.

Then we saw the beginning of the tree-lined park – it was gorgeous, grassy and colorful. It beaconed. It was as we expected. But by then, we had been in the park for more than 2 hours. We wanted to find a nice shady place to sit and relax, which is probably the most challenging thing to do in a country that does not have an abundance of park benches and where the ground is off limits (for a variety of hygienic reasons). Next time, remember to bring a blanket!

We saw a flat rock, under the tree and parked there for a while. It was a well-used resting place as it had an abandoned corncob and half-eaten cucumber under foot. We overlooked the flaws and focused on the water view and the pleasant breeze. We sang some praise songs aloud – and no one was disturbed by our noise.

It was almost noon and work called. “Time off” was over, our colleague needed some help… and we were tired. We had made it to the edge of the parkway and found a bit of rest. It was sunny, clear and colorful. God made it so. That was enough. It was time to turn around and head home. Maybe there was time for a nap in the dorm too…

"Be the reason that I live…. Jesus, Jesus.”

I Timothy 3:16

MORE PHOTOS ONLINE.