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Love can move mountains, literally and figuratively!

August 22, 2019 / MSFriend / 0 Comments

Love can move mountains, literally and figuratively! So I continue to process my journey and along the way, the all-knowing, ever-present God, provides me with thoughts, words and people who continue to prod my memory just enough to reveal the lessons.

While on The Camino I reflected on God’s great love for me. It led me to share the following reflection on Tripcast:

Today I’m grateful for love! The kind of love that saves and the kind that sets free.

I am grateful for the love of Christ. The tremendous love that propelled Him to lay down His life for me. The kind of love that overflows and is infinitely merciful. A love I felt so intensely as I continued to move forward on The Way.

As my Camino journey nears its end, I reflect on how I got here. In trying to decide whether this 37 day journey was feasible for me – I was surprised to hear the words “DO IT” come out of my husband’s mouth.

As I walked everyday the first two weeks I couldn’t help but think of the deep love he had for me. A love so deep he was willing to set me free even if it hurt! Wow!

So in addition to Christ’s love, I’m so grateful for the love of my husband. A love so big and so deep he sacrificed routine/daily comforts and checked his PTSD at the door long enough for me to experience the journey for a lifetime! And for THAT I’m grateful!

Looking back

Pilgrims on the Camino often recall a familiar phrase: “the Camino provides.” The Camino most certainly does provide. The Camino provides companionship, it provides necessities, it provides encouragement through it’s beauty and the list goes on and on.

When I wrote that reflection on love, I was overwhelmed with emotion when I thought about the love I have been blessed to experience in my life. Just when I thought I’d reached my limit, the Camino provided something deeper.

I often tease my husband about the fact that he doesn’t remember what I tell him or that he’s clueless about the number of things I do on any given day to make his day go smoothly. My time away on the Camino changed all that.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear him acknowledge that he takes me for granted (something he never realized until then). I was even more surprised that he would remember small details of a conversation we’d had the previous day. Being away from home also made me realize just how much I take for granted as well. Our eyes and ears were opened and our hearts grew closer.

The love of Christ

One of the things I set out to do on this journey was to grow closer to God. Before this journey I often found myself overwhelmed with life, sometimes a bit anxious. I knew that these feelings were a result of my lack of trust in and surrender to God. I wanted to grow closer to Him in a way that would allow me to breathe easy knowing that He has control of my life. I’m happy to report that the Camino continues to provide.

I have a greater sense of peace now that I have returned to “normal life.” I remind myself often of the grace God provided on the journey, how He never let me go, how He carried me, how He moved mountains for me.

When I wrote about the kind of love that sets free in my original reflection, I was referring to my husband’s love for me. He never holds me back from anything I want to do. He often says “who am I to hold you back, I don’t own you.” So yes, while that relational love sets me free, the love of God sets me free in a completely different way.

I’m more dependent on God after my trip, knowing He has my best interests at heart. I’m trying not to control the outcome of anything. I am aware now more than ever that I was NEVER in control and so I’m surrendering more. I’m making a conscious effort to not desire recognition for anything. I find myself preferring anonymity. While that wasn’t the case just a few months ago, I recognize how liberating that is now!

What are your mountains?

On the Camino journey, I walked through actual mountains. At times, it felt grueling and at other times it felt invigorating. Nonetheless, those mountains are behind me now. They’ve been moved! In life, we all experience mountains as well. Figurative, of course. My personal mountains were stress, anxiety, control, fear. What are your mountains?

Looking ahead

Whatever the mountain may be, my experience has been that love can move mountains. Love is transformative. We just have to acknowledge that we are loved! Recognize it and it’s immensity.

Just yesterday, during prayer group, we discussed our favorite Psalm. My personal favorite is Psalm 139 because it reminds me just how much I am valued and loved by God. He knit me in my mother’s womb. He CHOSE to create me. Everything He created is good and has a purpose. That includes me! How cool is that?

I think it’s important to remember that we are going to experience hills and valleys in life. This is true regardless of our purpose, even though He loves us and even though He created us with intention. Those hills and valleys are there to teach and transform us.

In a recent interview we had with Orange Magazine, my friend and I were asked if the struggles we experienced on The Camino changed us. Of course they did! Then my friend shared a quote that summed it all up:

“God loves us just the way we are, but too much to let us stay that way!“

Think about that the next time you start to wonder if God hears you, if God loves you or why He allows you to experience suffering. Love can move mountains! It has the power to transform us! God Bless you!

9 days into the journey

August 12, 2019 / MSFriend / 2 Comments

9 days into the journey seemed like an eternity and yet it still seemed quite new. I began walking the Camino de Santiago on May 15, 2019. The first week was one of many tests. It took me about a week to settle into my new routine and to focus on what it was the Camino had to teach me. On the 9th day I wrote this reflection, which I shared with my Facebook and Tripcast followers:

Lessons learned

Each day as I walk along the Camino, I try to think of one thing I’m grateful for that day. One day it was rain because although I was walking in it, I truly enjoyed it. Another day it was answered prayer. Today it was my blisters. Why you ask? For a few reasons:

First, because as I walked in pain I was reminded of how awesome a creation we are. The fact that our bodies are able to defend themselves against injury is amazing to me. We just have to stop and listen to the warning signs our bodies give us in order to avoid serious issues.

Secondly, I noticed that as I walked in pain, I was forced to walk with intention. Every step I took today, everywhere I placed my foot was intended. My blisters caused me to raise my awareness of the moment. Each moment mattered today, each step intended – because without intention I would have experienced more pain.

Third, my blisters caused me to depend heavily on my trekking poles, which I named Jesus and Maria. As I walked, I was reminded to call on Jesus and Mary to get me through the day, but I was also reminded that they are a great source of comfort and strength to anyone who needs it.

My hope on this journey is to become more mindful of the present moment and today my blisters helped me get there, while Jesus and Maria were at my side, holding me up and helping me through. God bless you!

Continued reflection

As I continue to reflect, I remember all the different situations along the Camino that required our intentionality. It was not only my steps. The lesson was being driven home each day even as we discussed what to eat.

We had to make a conscious effort to get to our destination and eat BEFORE Spain shut down for siesta. If we got distracted with other things that effected our intention we would have to wait until the restaurants reopened for dinner (which was usually past our bedtime). This meant wait up or have something small. One day it was two yogurts and a nectarine. Another time it was yogurt and melba toast and some laughing cow cheese. And yet another time it was a frozen pizza that tasted like cardboard. We’re slow learners! The painful part was that we had no one to blame but ourselves (another lesson to discuss at a later date!).

One more thing: As much as we would have liked to attend mass on a daily basis, this was not an option for us – either because churches were closed or did not have an available priest or again – the mass was late and usually past our bedtime.

We realized early on in our trip that Sunday mass was offered one time in the day. It was not like in the United States where we usually have at least 4 options, sometimes 5. In Spain, Sunday mass was usually around 12 and that was it! Regardless of the time, it was obvious to me that we had to be intentional about our mass attendance as well. We couldn’t go around, as we do at home, fitting mass into our day – we had to fit our day into the mass.

That was a big deal to me because it made me realize that having too many options on when we can attend mass actually takes away from the focus and the importance of such great a gift – the source and summit of the Christian life! Having only one option made us focus on that one mass and how we were going to plan our whole day around that one event because it was important and it was all we had! I don’t know if that was the intention of the Spanish, but it was certainly a powerful message in my eyes.

Here and now

So intention was a big lesson on the Camino. Intention all around – intentions in walking, intention in planning, intention in prayer. Intention leads to presence and Presence.

When we are intentional, we show up in the present moment. We’re not in the past (depression), not in the future (anxiety) but in the here and now (gratitude). Just imagine how happy we could be if we remained here and now, aware of the Presence of Christ all around us! Here is an old post that touches on this subject. The journey continues……can’t wait to see where it leads.

Shepherd of Faith

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