My favorite photo from our 2017 Camino de Santiago journey. Sometimes it’s not clear where we are headed, but pilgrims trust that the trail ahead will lead to the good things of the Lord.
(Thank you Beth Longtine for the amazing pic!)
Category: Travel (Page 10 of 23)
I took this photo on the Camino de Santiago and immediately thought of the words Jesus spoke, recorded in Matthew 7:13&14:
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Or, as The Message version of the Bible puts it:
Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.
The way to God is vigorous and requires total attention. That challenges me, as the words of Jesus always do. Where might we be following broad, easy paths when we should turn off on the narrow road? In a world where easygoing formulas exist at every hand, our thoughtful attention to the right path requires more of us than ever.
Walking the trail
One step followed by another. Crunching along the gravel trail as the morning mists dissipate. Moisture dripping from trees. Mounds of acorns and hazelnuts lining the trail. Cafe con leche in a trailside restaurant. Shadowing dairy cattle as they move from their milking barns to the fields. Sore knees. Blisters. Trailside shrines to lost loved ones. Fellow pilgrims from all over the world. Pilgrims walking to forget. Pilgrims walking to remember. Pilgrims walking and hoping to connect with God. Pilgrims walking in hopes there is a God. Pilgrims walking who don’t believe in God, but who are drawn to this place for some mysterious reason that they cannot put a finger on. Maybe it’s God?
There’s simply no place like the Camino de Santiago. I believe it’s a “thin place,” a spot in the world where the eternal is somehow present in an authentic sense to our temporal hearts. We will go back – maybe you should consider joining us next year!
This week Dawn and I and several friends are walking the ancient pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago, or “the way of Saint James.” We’re following signs like the one pictured to the right and enjoying the beauty of northern Spain as we walk the 70 miles to the cathedral in Santiago.
Pilgrims have been following this trail for over 1,000 years. It’s a “thin place” where the spiritual world and the temporal world are somehow closer together. We are excited to make this walk again.
Maybe next year some of you will join us?
Seers, Sayers, Schemers & Saints
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GO: Following Jesus to the Ends of the Earth
This book contains reflections on the Lordship of Christ, the Great Commission, and a life of adventure and eternal significance. Read this book and you won't be able to sit still!