Skip to main content

Pilgrimage


Pilgrimage
                For the past two Mondays I have been on a Pilgrimage in Spain.  I have wanted to walk the Camino de Santiago for many years.  After my friend Karen and I celebrated our 50th birthdays by spending three days in a luxurious Spa, we decided to walk the Way of St. James (English Translation) to celebrate our 55th birthdays.  Brian researched and bought me a guidebook.  Karen and I talked about how we would prepare for a 500 mile walk.  In between the plan for the pilgrimage and the actual walking the Way, everything changed.  Brian passed away and I began to work full-time (difficult to take off the 30-45 days that are necessary), I remarried (difficult to leave your new husband for that amount of time) and it became apparent that our pilgrimage, if it were to happen, needed to be adjusted.  Rather than walk 500 miles residing in hostels with group bunk beds and facilities, carrying everything on our backs; we opted for a tour that included 4-star hotels and quaint inns, gourmet dinners and a bus to carry your belongings.  We became known as those people who brought their bus to the Camino!  Though we only walked 75 miles, it qualified for the church to grant us our official certificate of completion. 
                Though some pilgrims stood in judgement, I can tell you that it could not have been a more spiritually fulfilling experience.  God granted us all the graces we asked for and so much more.  In the guide book I read that by the time the pilgrims arrived at the last 75 miles their hearts were ready to rejoice because the journey prior across the mountains of France and the long desolate places was now replaced with the beauty of flourishing countryside and warm breezes.  This is exactly what happened for me the day we began our pilgrimage.  Since April 12 (our trip began on May 22), I had been walking a steep and difficult pilgrim road in my own hometown.  I was facing tasks that were impossible for me to accomplish including downsizing, selling my home, moving into a new home.  Everything was ordered up by God and was definitely humanly impossible.  I considered this the first 425 miles of the journey that I had missed.  In Spain I caught up with people who had left France on April 21 and one very young man who left on May 2.  They told tales of deep mud that you could not get off your boots and added about three pounds to your weighty journey, along with arduous .paths that required concentration and courage to pass.  Yet they too were full of joy and confidence in the journey.  It appeared that nothing would stop them from arriving at Santiago de Compostela (St. James of the Starry field).  The hardships on Pilgrimage are what bring out the strength of God.
                In one of the beautiful chapels on the first day of our journey I read this verse from Exodus 23:20:  See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.  Only God knew the way I would end up walking The Way.  He along sent angels to cause all the tasks of Texas to be met, and prepare me to feel that a vacation of walking up to 20 miles a day would be a release from the work I left behind.  Only God prepared the way for this my pilgrimage. Only God is in charge of the experiences we each have along the way.  Each day is full the graces that He provides and they are way beyond any we could ask for.  What you learn on a pilgrimage is that God’s graces and guidance is offered each and every day.  I hope to live my life as a pilgrimage today and every day until I reach my destination of being fully in God’s grace in heaven. 

Copyright © 2016.  Deborah R. Newman teatimeforyoursoul.com All Rights Reserved.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Pilgrimage that Started with Tears

                Who would think I would shed tears deciding to set out on a wonderful journey that I have longed to take for many years?   Before I was ready to fully accept God’s invitation for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, I had to journey to a place of agreement between what my soul wanted and what the Lord wanted for me.   For years I have been declining opportunities to travel to Israel—not because I didn’t want to go but because I wanted to go with my husband by my side.   I know that God could have arranged that for me, but instead He asked me to accept that He wanted me to be willing to go and leave everything behind.   When I was asked to make a decision about going on a Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, God gave me this verse in answer to my prayer -- Debi, observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are cr...

The Effects of the Holy Spirit

The Effects of the Holy Spirit               Can you imagine that the very Spirit of God is given to humans who believe in God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ’s death, burial and resurrection?  Just thinking about the Holy Spirit makes me realize that I can do better.  I am not left to my own resources when it comes to praying, having faith, obeying God, doing what He asks me to do.                 No one understands the depth of sin’s effect on a soul better than God.  Every action He takes has been to reduce the effect of evil that was unleashed into our world when sin was merged into His perfect universe.  We never saw it coming. Even Adam and Eve did not see what hit them.  God has counteracted with the effect of faith after sin by enabling sinners to be affected by His ho...

Holy Saturday

Nothing is written about the events of Holy Saturday except Luke 23:56, “they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.” These few words speak volumes about our life with Christ.   What was it like for these ladies to rest on the Sabbath?   They had watched carefully, they knew how quickly Jesus’ body was laid in the grave. The men had brought spices and linens, but they had little time to properly anoint this most precious of all bodies.   As the women watched carefully, they made mental note of the supplies that would be necessary to complete this sacred act of burial as it should be. They spent the last few hours before sunset to prepare the spices for this holy act of reverence. The Sabbath signaled the time for rest.   I’m sure they didn’t feel like resting, but by complying out of obedience they were probably served by its benefits.   Their minds racing from the horror they had just witnessed, at best they could allow their bodies to rest and ...