A Journey With the Lord
One of the positives of social media is getting to see all of the interesting places people visit. Recently a Facebook friend, really an acquaintance from college, shared that he was preparing to embark on the Camino de Santiago (the French Way), a pilgrimage or journey which culminates in Santiago at the tomb of St. James. I began to look for his posts each day of his journey. He explained that he was taking a little walk, he meant literally walking; one that when finished would be a total of 550 miles and almost 42 days to accomplish.
Every day he traveled through towns and villages and had stops or visits in churches, rest spots, restaurants, etc. As tradition goes, millions of people have walked the Camino since the Middle Ages. This journey seems to combine a few different kinds of experiences in terms of faith, social, and cultural. Many of the pilgrims on the journey have a Pilgrim Passport that they get stamped in every place they visit, stay, eat at, etc. He chose to go on this journey with himself and God. Walking for more than a month facing all of the elements, challenges, hardships, and pushing through to get to his final destination. I felt like I was on the journey with him.
Some of the pictures he posted of the the cathedrals were breathtaking. I loved all the history he was seeing and experiencing. Every day he posted pictures and stories of his day; I found myself looking of locations or references he mentioned, so I could learn more about this trip. All of this traveling, even with it being vicariously through Facebook, I began thinking about the journey each of us is on in our own lives. Some of our journeys are more known, but I'm guessing even more are private. I really empathized with him on the days that he had to travel over the mountains or up hills or over rugged paths. I felt it in my bones, how hard it was and how easy it would be to stop, rest, or give up. Luckily, he kept going. He persevered. Finally after starting in France on July 4, he finished his Camino 2 days ago. His journey reminded me that we all really are on a journey, individually and together. Individually in that we each make our own path in life. We often follow the way laid out by our parents, family, faith, or friends. Sometimes some of our paths are more bumpy, treacherous, and uneven, but as Christians we have a sole companion with us at all times. God is always with us even when we don't feel his presence. Stay the course. Remain loyal. God bless.
(I saved a few of the pictures from Steve's journey and shared them below.)
