This morning I went for run in Spantov, Romania. Spantov is a Roma (Gypsy) village of about 5,000 people 79 km southeast of Bucharest. We are not far from the border with Bulgaria.
I ran to the next village a few kilometers away. It was a run through time. I ran past homes with no indoor bathrooms. Horse drawn carts hauling wood, workers, and whatever else needed moved. They would stop to stare at me. Maybe it isn’t everyday some American comes running through their village wearing a running outfit my son says looks like something from a Brüno movie.
I ran past old men sitting on benches, grandmothers sweeping their walk paths with tree branches bundled together to make a broom, a man on horseback wearing a traditional hat, a young girl riding a bicycle. I was running through time.
Running gives me the feeling birds must have when they fly. It is strange and invigorating. It cleanses my mind and emotions. I see things, feel things, experience things differently when I run. Today was no different.
This morning as I ran through time I also saw I was running through eternity. Every place and every person shares a common set of needs rooted in their need to be connected to God. They don’t necessarily know it but they have been unhinged from the Eternal One. The human longing for beauty, meaning, significance, purpose, peace, joy, forgiveness, love, and compassion are all heart cries for God. These are longings for our Eternal home. And God has made a way home.
Debbie and I serve as the FMI Global Associate Director for MENACA and Europe. We focus on cultivating disciples, leaders, and church planting movements.
