At times
we are so distracted by the pitfalls of living in a fallen world that we miss
the intimate love of God that is present in each day. I discovered this reality over and over in my
pilgrimage. I could not imagine the
personal affection that God demonstrated for me in a multitude of ways. I am not saying that God made my journey
painless or easy. It was painful and
difficult. I am saying that He personally guided me and walked with me and
helped me not miss the abundance of His grace that was all around me. If I had walked that pilgrimage in my flesh,
I would not have much to write about. I
could tell you that I had a really good time walking through beautiful forests between
villages and cities leading to a cathedral of significant history. I was frustrated by pain, people and
inconvenient rain. I was proud of myself
for finishing in spite of my pain and delighted by beautiful sights. Yet I have so much more to say because when
you add God’s intimate love into that equation, your pilgrimage takes you to
all new levels of spiritual truth and beauty along the exact same path.
Some
people look at my life and hardships and wonder how I could be so cursed to face
such hard realities. I know there are
many who pity me and feel sorry for me, but I don’t feel this way about myself
and my reality. I don’t know how I got
so blessed! Why, you may ask? It is because I absolutely can’t believe how
God reveals beauty in the harshest realities I walk through. This was highlighted on the Pilgrimage. Right from the beginning God provided a
spiritual leader to guide my soul in a priest named Father James Walker. What a name for a priest who is your
spiritual guide along the Way of St. James—or the direct translation of Camino
de Santiago which means the walk of St.
James. This man did not travel to
Spain in a sling from a recent shoulder surgery to get a free European
vacation. He came out of love for the
mission God gave him to enhance the spiritual focus of pilgrims on the
Camino. I never asked him why he
came. It was obvious in every word he
said and how he made himself available to each person on the trail, even a cute
little Baptist minister like me. While
we were still in Madrid, he began asking us important questions and prescribing
significant spiritual instruction. He
challenged us to see our pilgrimage not as a journey but as an encounter! From his experience, every pilgrim is on this
journey because they still haven’t found what they are looking for. He gave us the hint that what we are looking
for is not something, rather it is someONE.
Fast forward to our last spiritual lesson from Fr. Walker, which was
once again on the topic of encounter. He
further explained that the encounter he advised us to look for on our
pilgrimage was meeting the true Christ.
He explained why these encounters in the here and now are so vital. He said:
We have encounters now while we
can, so we will know what it will be like when we meet Him face to face.
The next
morning, I was up early and alone with an important task on my heart of finding
the post office in the maze of Santiago.
I had a limited time to hobble up and down slopes with my sore knee, and
be back at the prescribed time. I am
hopeless with directions in a city with avenues and boulevards, so you won’t be
surprised to know that I have a history of being lost in these European
cities. I got a map and directions from
the concierge, confident it would not be enough. I prayed for God to lead me to the post
office. As I walked through the crowded
city of strangers losing hope that I would be successful in my quest, I looked
up and saw the only person I knew in Santiago greeting me. It was Father Walker. I asked him if he knew where the post office
was located. We looked up to discover that we had met exactly in front of the
post office for which I was searching—AN ENCOUNTER. Indeed, Father Walker had been like Christ to
me all along the journey. He had
encouraged, advised, inspired and prayed for me. There were so many other ways God showed me
His intimate, caring love. He gave me
specific Scriptures that guided my soul through problems I was facing—it was
literally as if I was complaining to a best friend and received immediate
understanding and advice in Scripture.
He slowed me down through my knee pain so I didn’t miss the beauty nor
the solitude with Him. He even led me to
the strongest Wi-Fi in the country so I could have a skype call with my husband
to keep me going. I’m out of room to
record for you the intimate and personal ways I encountered God on this
pilgrimage. All I can say is that He is an intimate and personal God. I certainly felt the way Isaiah 62:3
describes God’s intimate love for Jerusalem: You will be a glorious crown in the Lord’s hand, and a royal diadem in the palm of your God.
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Deborah R Newman
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