Radnor Lake

"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" (Psalm 42:1-2) 

These are the words that sprang to my mind this morning as I walked along the shore of Radnor Lake and spotted a doe and her fawn drinking from an adjacent pond. Radnor Lake is one of Tennessee's state natural areas, a 1,200-acre jewel of a park located just eight miles from downtown Nashville. I began walking regularly at Radnor Lake when Chaney started high school, since John Overton High School is located just a couple of miles from the park's east parking lot and it was very convenient for me to drop him off at school and then head out for my morning hike. Visitors to Radnor Lake can walk on Otter Creek Road along the southern shore of the 85-acre lake or venture out onto one of the four major trails: Lake, South Lake, South Cove, and Ganier Ridge.

One year I kept a small journal in my car in which I recorded the variety of wildlife I spotted each day during my hike, including: whitetailed deer, barred owls, river otters, snakes, beavers, rabbits, frogs, muskrats, Canada geese, great blue herons, red-tailed hawks, and a variety of ducks. As I recall, on one winter day I spotted 70+ whitetailed deer, a personal best. My son claims that there are really only ten deer in the park which continually hightail it through the woods and position themselves so that I will spot (and count) them over and over again. He clearly grew weary that year of my daily animal spotting reports.

Hiking at Radnor Lake is good for my body, mind, and soul. This is a sacred place for me, a place where I go to meet God. This park is a sanctuary where I admire the Creator's handiwork and consider my place in His creation. This is also a place of prayer for me. I have uttered countless prayers during the past few years as I have traversed these trails - including regular prayers for the high school students I teach at church. When this morning's sighting of the doe and her fawn brought the psalmist's words to mind, I prayed that these high school seniors would have a thirst for the living God, an unquenchable desire to know God more intimately. And that is my prayer for myself, as well.