Almost a year later...

It has been almost a year since Billy began his walk on the Camino de Santiago in 2014. A year ago, we were double checking to make sure that all was in order.  He would be walking the 791 kilometers from France to Santiago de Compostelo, Spain while I would be staying behind and caring for our home and daughter.  It would be 5+ weeks apart.  Five weeks when I would be taking care of bills and home repairs, health issues and economics, ministry and school, and everything in between.  Billy would spend his days counseling and trekking the ancient pilgrimage alongside many, many different people.

Now, a year later, we are again double checking everything to make sure all is in order.  Only this time, we will be walking and ministering together on the Camino.  We leave my mother behind to take on the caregiver role this time.  She speaks no Spanish.  She has a one week window to learn our schedule and routes and the basic necessities before we leave her in charge of the house and Sarah and all the daily tasks.  Yes, I’m a little stressed about making sure that all is in order and that she will have everything she needs!

This year, it’s me who will be the new kid on the Camino.  I’m the one with the butterflies in my stomach.  I’m the one who is worried about whether or not I have what it takes to walk all day every day. To not only walk, but to also minister to those I walk alongside.  To do it with grace and to listen with love.  Do I have what it takes?

At the same time, I’m afraid I have too much.  Too much in my backpack.  Too much weight on my shoulders (maybe both physically and mentally). Too many extra pounds on my backside and hips. Too many expectations. Too much stress. Too many worries…

And maybe that is what God wants to work on in me during this time.  Maybe the one thing that I’m walking for – to minister to others who are burdened – maybe that is the one thing God wants me to deal with in myself… the burdens I carry.

The journey begins next Friday, May 22.  
~Laurie