The day began as Bishop Sparks blessed our day’s journey and Canon Michelle Walker reminded us that we each have our own journey to make. No journey is better than another; those who walk quickly are not better than those who walk slowly. And those who take a taxi for the last portion should not see it as a failure, but instead it is the Camino that they are called to make.
Although there are over 20 of us who started walking in Sorria yesterday, we all have different histories and experiences. But we are all open to how the Camino has brought us together and how it will change us as individuals.
I walked with some of our group today, and then sometimes by myself. I walked slowly over slippery rocks from yesterday’s rain, and then walked more quickly over the paths that were level and smooth, walked by millions of pilgrims before us. I met a gentleman from a Catholic Church in Northern Virginia who was also on his first Camino, celebrating a 50th birthday of a friend.
We swapped stories at dinner of how we were sustained on the 15 mile hike. Some of us had favorite prayers, and others of us were praying for others. We focused not so much on the final destination, but instead on the few steps ahead of us that we could see in the fog.
We have a longer day tomorrow, but for today, I was reminded how each of us is loved by God as an individual and we have a unique story to tell. It is through perseverance and our never-ending reliance on God that gets us through those last few miles of any day’s journey.
This photo is in Ligonde where our journey came to a slower pace. These cows were moving to the barn to be milked, and they happened to take a part of the Camino on their journey.
Blessing, my friend,
Agatha