Our fourth day on the Camino was only 11 miles from Arzùa to Pedrouzo and a more gentle route through meadows, oak and eucalyptus trees with small villages.
It was farther than I’d ever walked in any day before the Camino but after 18 miles the day before, it seemed manageable. I taped my big toes again and determined to finish Day 4.
Again, we all started out as a group with a short prayer and meditation. We were reminded by Bishop Sparks and Canon Walker to make the journey for today “our own”. Soon we were all separated, walking at different paces.
I was walking alone and I began to think about what was unique about my journey. I realized it wasn’t because it was more special than anyone else’s, but it was mine alone.
I replayed snippets of my life starting with childhood and working through the decades. Although everything was not perfect, I did have a lot to be thankful for even when I wasn’t sure of the events.
My childhood was not a perfect family life, but I am grateful for the firm foundation in the Christian faith I received from observing my mother’s faithfulness.
I recalled my apprehension when my family moved and I had to switch schools on Thanksgiving Day of 9th grade. I didn’t know then that the school was much better than the one I had left, and I met the most amazing classmates who became my friends. I am still in awe of the class that graduated from Geneseo Central in 1972.
I recalled transferring to pharmacy school in 1974, going from Upstate New York to Oklahoma to go to school and play varsity golf. I would never have had the opportunities of a lifetime (both in pharmacy and in college athletics), if I hadn’t taken the risk of that move into unknown territory. And I met life-long friends from my 20 years in Oklahoma.
My time in San Antonio was special where I made more life-long friends and first came to understand how connected I feel to the Hispanic culture and people. My sister-in-law Cecilia is from Guadalajara and has been a constant reminder of how special family can be along with her husband (my brother-in-law), Michael. I enjoy our conversations and visits and can’t wait to share about my trip to Spain.
I am most grateful for my breast cancer diagnosis in 2006. That sounds like an unusual thing to be grateful for, but it reinforced my faith when I had to put everything in God’s hands and finally understood how powerless I am on my own. I drew on my mother’s faithfulness long after she had passed away, but those memories stay forever.
Towards the end of the 11 miles, I realized how amazing it was for me to even complete so much hiking with no pain. After my breast cancer diagnosis, I had to take drugs for 6 years to prevent a recurrence. The drugs were necessary but caused severe joint pain that was not easy to control. After I stopped the drugs, the pain didn’t subside. The diagnosis of missing cartilage in my left hip wasn’t made until 2016, a full ten years after the joint pain started. I had almost given up hope of ever having a time when I wasn’t in pain, or when I could exercise again.
It was nothing short of a miracle when I had hip replacement surgery in December 2018. And here I was one day away from completing a 73 mile hike over 5 days and getting my Compostela, the Latin certificate for pilgrims who walk for spiritual reasons that shows that I had walked the last 100 kilometers.
To be relieved of pain is the most amazing experience and the one I am most grateful for. I realize that in order to be relieved of pain, one must have pain. Whether it is physical, emotional or spiritual, pain is the basis for the healing process. For that I am grateful.
Blessings, my friend,
Agatha