Why are we doing this?

Friends continue to ask us “why” we are we walking this Pilgrimage.  Lisbon, Portugal to Santiago, Spain by foot... are we crazy? There has to be an easier and faster way to travel these 375 miles!  There is always the question, “didn’t Greg  develop debilitating blisters on our 500 mile Camino de Santiago three years ago?”  “Why would we carry these backpacks with only 2 changes of clothes? “Why would we not do the luxury trip and at least take suitcases with all of our needs in them and have a service move forward to the next nice hotel instead of staying in hostels with so many other pilgrims in 1 room?”  “Don’t I miss a warm shower or hot soaking bath,  blow dry and makeup?” The list goes in. 

The truth is this isn’t a vacation. It’s not a luxury walk of sightseeing and photography (even though I did take more than 4000 photos on the Camino Frances. )  Walking any of the Camino paths to Santiago is a walk of faith. It’s a time of penance to get closer to God and dig deep into our souls to find our purpose in this big world of ours. The takeaway the Camino Frances taught me was that we are all the same. People from every walk of life from all over the world are fighting the same battles, mourning losses, fighting a disease or illness, giving back for answered prayers and searching for   answers.  People from all over the world walk these Camino’s to feed their souls. Greg and I have set aside almost a month to walk the Portuguese Camino to feed our souls. The Catholic daily meal prayer seems so appropriate for us as we pray: 

               Bless us O Lord

               And these thy gifts

               Which we are about 

               to receive from thy bounty

               Thru Christ our Lord.

                              Amen

The Camino brings daily gifts to each of us in different personal ways. Gifts of appreciation, thanksgiving, walking thru the pain and ending days with shared stories and Pilgrim meals to name a few. Every day is different. Every day is special. Every day is a gift from God.  A reality that we tend to take for granted in our busy chaotic daily lives. 

Personally I am walking this Camino in honor of my brother, Ronnie, who passed away 1 year ago on May 16th, my birthday.  I want to share this anniversary birthday alone with him in my thoughts and prayers and privately honor his memory and rejoice for his giving me the gift of his meeting Jesus on my birthday.  I’ll take his memory with me on this journey and release the fierce pain my heart grieves for his loss. 

A bonus we have waiting for us in Lisbon is meeting Michael and walking our first 2 weeks with him. We met him on the Camino Frances and have stayed in touch like so many of our fellow Pilgrims from that journey. We will miss Mary and Bill, our Australian mates and so many others but will carry each and everyone of them with us in spirit. 

I will be spending everyday praying as I walk like I did before. It feels so good to pray for others. Message me if you have any prayers you’d like me to lift up. Please pray for us for safety and no blisters!

It’s 5:20am in Lisbon and we’ve safely landed!  As they say in Portugal.... Bom Caminho!