This
will be my last devotion about my pilgrimage though I could go on and on. God packed so many spiritual lessons that
perhaps I’ll need to write a book. I
want to end on the subject that confirmed my call to this pilgrimage and overwhelmed
any hurts, hardships, or heaviness—that subject is JOY!
Our last
day of walking the Camino started differently than the others. We hiked to the church at the Mount of Joy to
have our service (every other day we had services in historical churches where
we stayed for the night). The Mount of
Joy is so named because that is what the pilgrims who have traveled more than
500 miles felt when they reached this place.
They were on the precipice of arriving at the Cathedral for which they
were destined. It is a bitter-sweet
experience because it meant that you would soon walk back to your ordinary life
and leave the journey of the Camino behind. Yet you have joy for having opened
your soul to the gifts of God along the way.
This day
I walked mainly by myself, coveting the last steps of this amazing
experience. At one stop I saw the
Australians on our trip having a cup of tea. I longed to join them, but they
were almost done and time was short to make it to the church service. Then I looked up and my friend Charlene was
ordering a cup of tea. This was my invitation to experience Tea Time for My
Soul on the Camino, while sitting in a lovely wooden chair under the shade of
an olive tree. When I finished my cup, I
asked the owner how far it was to the Hill of Joy (I needed to be there by
12). He told me that it was an hour’s
walk—I had thirty minutes. I didn’t want
to miss the service so I walked as fast as I could using the technique that the
Physical Therapist taught me. I passed
tons of pilgrims, all slowly moving to their destination, really savoring their
last steps on the Camino. I’m sure I was
a sight—huffing and puffing—and walking as if I were riding an imaginary
donkey!
Upon
arriving at the Hill of Joy, I had time to cool down by eating my favorite
chocolate. I wasn’t late at all and even
had time to accompany the Father back to the restrooms where I wanted to stop
earlier but decided against it because of time.
The little chapel on the Hill of Joy did not disappoint. Behind the altar was a crude Pieta that was
intriguing and delightful to the eye.
The Scriptures for the service (predetermined for the whole church that
day) matched the experience I was having.
Zephaniah 3:14-18a—Sing for joy on the Mount of Joy because He delights
to sing over you! Romans 12:9-16—directions
for how to love one another and treat each other on a pilgrimage. Psalm 12 answered why I had so much
joy—because of the Great and Holy One of Israel! Our sermon came from Luke 1:39-56 about the joy
exchanged between Mary and Elizabeth when John the Baptist jumped in
Elizabeth’s womb as Mary, nurturing Jesus in her womb, walked into Elizabeth’s
home.
Upon the
conclusion of this Camino, Father Walker challenged us to recognize that we
wait for the new heaven and the new earth.
He gave us the joyful news that our Camino was not over when we reached
the Cathedral de Santiago, home to the bones of St James. Our life is a Camino whose destination is
heaven. Psalm 16:11 says: You reveal the path of life to me; in Your
presence is abundant joy; in
Your right hand are eternal pleasures.
The joy I experienced is available to me every day. All that I need to do is acknowledge the
presence of the Lord and I indeed experience abundant joy. He gave me so many personal and joyful
experiences along the Way that I could not write them all down; they were too
many to keep up. He didn’t shield me
from hurt, pain and rejection. He used
all my hardships to deepen my connection to His presence, which multiplied my
joy. My Camino is proof that there is
abundant joy when I walk a path with Him.
Copyright © 2016. Deborah
R Newman teatimeforyoursoul.com All
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