Lesson 1- life is unpredictable

Along the winding road I live on there are several of these signs. 

One of them is directly across from our driveway so I see it every day. Since we moved to this house six years ago I’ve often thought the sign was placed there as a message or symbol for me. For the current stage of life I find myself in, it seems the perfect reminder that the journey each one of us is on was never intended to be a straight path. 

For many years I have been intrigued with the El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage and at some point decided to arrange a trip for 2023 in celebration of my 50th birthday. Age 50 seemed a perfect time to have an exciting motivator to get in better shape, an intentional focus on seeking direction for what I hope the second half of my life might include, and a chance to deepen my faith and connect with God in new ways. My family and I booked our travel and started planning our trip to Spain. 

Several events in 2023 tempered my plans for 6 months of intense physical training to prepare for this 100km walk, yet I do find myself able to walk 10 miles in a day with relative ease. Evidently I did a decent job of preparing after all. Being distracted by the busyness of life has left a number of spirituality focused books I collected for the Camino stacked up, unread, on my night stand. However, the ones I finished reading have been wonderful. The daily meditation time I planned to start in January happens most days. Well, ok, I guess more accurately it happens some days that aren’t usually consecutive. As I question if I’ll be ready for the pilgrimage I remind myself of the sign at the end of my driveway. Sometimes life is hard. I should just do the best that I can. I’ll be alright. 

Then, just over two weeks ago I had the biggest trip derailment yet. My mom passed away suddenly and mostly unexpectedly. I have been left reeling by shock and immense grief. But mom gave me what turned out to be a providential gift at the very end of her life. In the second to last conversation I had with her, on the afternoon before she died, she told me that she wanted me to go on this trip. It was important. Even though she faced a number of health challenges she knew she and my dad would have the support they needed until I returned. 

Once I was sure that my dad had enough people surrounding him while I’m away, my family decided we should go forward with our plans. All of a sudden the pilgrimage took on a whole new meaning for me. 

So on Saturday morning I walked out of my house to begin a pilgrimage. I’m still mostly in an emotional fog, but I’m excited to see what comes next. The first lesson of the pilgrimage has been driven home already- life is unpredictable.