The pilgrimage before the pilgrimage

The pilgrimage before the pilgrimage!  Who knew?  Several months ago I agreed to endeavor to walk the Camino de Santiago or The Way of St. James – a pilgrimage that would take me at least 30 days to complete if I walked 17 miles a day. The idea sounded awesome.  I knew it was going to be a holy experience – one that would certainly allow me to grow closer to God. It was going to be an adventure and one that would give me the opportunity to travel to other parts. 

Never once in all my plans and training did I ever think I’d be tested the way I have been tested these past few months. Anyone who knows me, knows I am always up for a good adventure and that I like seeing new things. So how do I explain the panic, the anxiety and the debilitating fear I experienced up until the day I was to leave?

Just two or three days before my departure I was given the grace to understand that my prep was a pilgrimage before the pilgrimage – a journey all its own. In the midst of it all, I often thought of the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary and its fruit. I wondered if I was expected to undergo the agony, the scourging, etc. before I could persevere. I likened my experience to a load of laundry in a washing machine. I felt like I was going through the wash cycle, being tossed about here and there.   It was almost as if I was being purified in order to see the big picture – that God is with me always and there’s no need to fear.  The more I remembered that truth, the more courageous I became.

This pilgrimage is definitely a lesson in patience and endurance, a lesson in letting go and stepping out of my comfort zone with the knowledge that God will lead the way – all one has to do is trust. 

So I continue to trust in God and where He is leading me.  I look forward to persevering in my walking and returning to my life a changed soul. 

God bless you!