As many of you may know, I will be leaving in just a few short weeks with just my backpack and my dear friend, Krista, to go to Spain and walk El Camino de Santiago de Compostela (The Way (or Walk) of St. James of Compostela).

Several Thoughts Before I Go…

1. God is so good.
He has blessed the family I work for with another Franciscan Alumni as my replacement. This was a 100% random, coincidental miracle, as all parties involved had no idea this was the case until the day she showed up for the interview and we recognized each other! It gives me great peace of mind and heart to know that they will continued to be loved with not just the human love of a nanny, but with the eternal love of Christ a Christian carries in them through the world.

2. Pray for me.
I would greatly appreciate any and all prayers as I prepare to embark upon this pilgrimage (and most especially while I am over there). I have prayed the prayer of Samuel “Speak, O Lord, your servant is listening” and in a very real way have asked God to speak clearly to my heart throughout the Camino. And so, I wait in child-like faith and confidence for the Father, whom I know loves me and seizes every opportunity we give Him to speak to us, to come and whisper to my soul in His great Wisdom, His will and desires for me. Please pray for this intention. That as I leave external distractions behind, I may also slowly rid myself of the many internal distractions which make it so difficult to hear the Lord.

3. I Would Greatly Like to be able to Pray for You.
Along with my pack, know that I already carry with me the intentions (both known and unknown) of each of you. However, in very real way, I would like to carry them with me. There is a tradition on the Camino of carrying a rock with you in your pack (extra weight…which when you are carrying a pack every day for 5 weeks becomes a big deal) to symbolize any burdens, distractions, or intentions you would like to offer the Camino for. Eventually, leaving them behind in Santiago for the Lord to do with them as he pleases. Though I cannot physically carry a rock for each of you, though I wish I could, I would like to carry your intentions with me, offering my walk in part for your intentions as well as my own, leaving all behind in Santiago for the Lord to answer. Our prayer is powerful, especially our prayer for one another. Prayer and fasting was the only way of casting out even the most difficult of demons according to Jesus. Prayer IS powerful. 

May the Lord bless each of you, especially in this Holy Week as He draws us into His Passion. From the Last Supper, to the betrayal of one close to Him, through His arrest, scourging, being crowned with thorns, mocked, stripped and eventually made to stumble to Calvary, His cross on His back, the Lord beckons us this week to remember the price that was owed for our sins, a price we could never hope to pay for it was an eternal offense committed by our original parents (Adam and Eve)…not so that we may despair, but so that we may enter the festivities of Easter (Resurrection) Sunday with a greater understanding of God’s unfathomable love for us!

God be praised!