Santiago De Compostela
Dust and mud, sun and rain,
Such is the way to Santiago.
Thousands of pilgrims and more than a thousand of years.
Pilgrim: Who calls you? What hidden power attracts you?
It's not the field of stars.
Nor the great cathedrals.
It is not the beauty of Navarra.
Nor the wine of Rioja. Nor the seafood of Galicia. Nor the fields of Castilla.
Pilgrim, who is it who calls you?
What unseen power attracts you?
Not the peoples of the camino nor their rural customs. It is not history nor culture.
Not the rooster of the Calzada
Nor the palace of Gaudi
Nor the castle of Ponferrada.
All that is seen in passing,
And it is a joy to see it all,
Is still less than the voice that calls...
The feeling that is yet so much deeper.
The power that pushes me, the force that attracts me, I know not how to explain it
Only He who is above understands it.
These words were written by a fellow pilgrim and are written on the walls of Navarra as a beautiful mural. The beauty of them touched my heart as we passed but when we arrived in Santiago I began understand them in a way I had not before.
I have long thought it is no accident that we would be here at this time. What had once been a feat to accomplish, walking from France through Spain, became a calling for the both of us. Only He who is above understands it...
We have walked over 635 miles one step at a time. We wanted for nothing. We were the recipients of exquisite kindness. We were well cared for. Each morning we started out with the knowledge we were heading west for the day and by nightfall we laid our heads exactly where we were supposed to be. Some parts were challenging but we learned so much during those times and that we would be okay at the end of the day. We were given such exquisite gifts...the gift of time, of delightful conversations, of stillness and quiet, of companionship, an unlocking of our hearts to dream about what is ahead, and time in communion with God. It was so freeing.
I recall the words I have spoken during these last few years of transitions... it is not the end of something we celebrate...but the beginning of something new. Never were these words more true than they are right now. We are excited and well rested and eager for what is yet to be. We are glad you are with us to share this season.
It has been a Buen Camino.
Dust and mud, sun and rain,
Such is the way to Santiago.
Thousands of pilgrims and more than a thousand of years.
Pilgrim: Who calls you? What hidden power attracts you?
It's not the field of stars.
Nor the great cathedrals.
It is not the beauty of Navarra.
Nor the wine of Rioja. Nor the seafood of Galicia. Nor the fields of Castilla.
Pilgrim, who is it who calls you?
What unseen power attracts you?
Not the peoples of the camino nor their rural customs. It is not history nor culture.
Not the rooster of the Calzada
Nor the palace of Gaudi
Nor the castle of Ponferrada.
All that is seen in passing,
And it is a joy to see it all,
Is still less than the voice that calls...
The feeling that is yet so much deeper.
The power that pushes me, the force that attracts me, I know not how to explain it
Only He who is above understands it.
These words were written by a fellow pilgrim and are written on the walls of Navarra as a beautiful mural. The beauty of them touched my heart as we passed but when we arrived in Santiago I began understand them in a way I had not before.
I have long thought it is no accident that we would be here at this time. What had once been a feat to accomplish, walking from France through Spain, became a calling for the both of us. Only He who is above understands it...
We have walked over 635 miles one step at a time. We wanted for nothing. We were the recipients of exquisite kindness. We were well cared for. Each morning we started out with the knowledge we were heading west for the day and by nightfall we laid our heads exactly where we were supposed to be. Some parts were challenging but we learned so much during those times and that we would be okay at the end of the day. We were given such exquisite gifts...the gift of time, of delightful conversations, of stillness and quiet, of companionship, an unlocking of our hearts to dream about what is ahead, and time in communion with God. It was so freeing.
I recall the words I have spoken during these last few years of transitions... it is not the end of something we celebrate...but the beginning of something new. Never were these words more true than they are right now. We are excited and well rested and eager for what is yet to be. We are glad you are with us to share this season.
It has been a Buen Camino.
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