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.
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