Tripping into People of Grace

I first started this blog when I had the opportunity to travel to Scotland, Germany, Italy and Greece in 2010. I attended an international Summer School while in Scotland. There were students from all over the world representing many denominations and all WALKS of faith and life. 

Our instructors helped us to understand community. We did this through visits to a variety of faith communities, churches, working groups, and historical sites, as well as time spent together eating, talking, meditating and struggling with issues. 

I just found out this week that one of our instructors died. She was a woman of intelligence but more than this she was a woman of incredible GRACE. The following is part of the note we received from one of our other instructors. 

"When I visited a few weeks ago, I came away uplifted - her generous words about friends, her grace and thankfulness for life in general were very remarkable. 

She was as large hearted in the midst of her dying as she had always been, as you will remember."

What amazing words. What comforting words..she was a person of grace. .My prayer is that you may TRIP into someone like this more than once in your life...

Grace at breakfast.

Today's journey post comes by way of my daughter Lindsay. She took a walk from the church to the car and tripped into grace...

"Our church serves breakfast every Sunday to the members and the community around the church. Every Sunday I see a sweet lady that sits by herself. After breakfast I went out to my car to get something and I saw this lady sitting in her car. I went over to her to tell her hello and sorry that I had not spoken to her in breakfast. She asked if I came every Sunday and I said yes, my mom is the minister. She then replied with "I miss my daughter ever day. She died in 2004 and I never spent much time with her bc I had to work. Now that I don't work and have time, she's gone. Life happens whether you want it to or not."
In Sunday school we talked about the Holy Spirit picking you up and putting you exactly where you need to be. Well she felt like I needed to make a new friend named Sally this morning. #thanksbetogod #happysunday"

Adventures

Today's journey was a long bike ride for me. Thank you. Thank you to those who support by riding along with those of us who are slower. Thank you to those who support by providing rest stops. Thank you to those who provide SAG. And to those who cheer. And any I may have left out.

The journey can be long or short. Sometimes you see someone famous but often it's just ordinary folks walking (or riding) along side of you. But always it's an adventure. Enjoy it!!

The Hard Work of Justice and Mercy

Today I'm grateful to people who broaden my horizons with books and movies. I was planning to use today to walk 14-16 miles in preparation for my pilgrimage but the thunder and lightning changed my plans. Instead I caught up on a couple of movies which reminded me of different kinds of walks. 

I watched Iron-Jawed Angels about the struggle of women receiving the right to vote. The joy of a parade (a walk for justice) was violently interrupted by those who disagreed. 

How often our journeys are interrupted by disunity, unhappiness-our own or someone else's. How often our journeys are interrupted by misstep or a wrong turn (or even the weather?)

The second movie I watched was As We Forgive. It is about the genocide in Rwanda. More to the point it is about the reconciliation that has happened following the atrocities. It is a most powerful testimony. As I watched this movie I was moved to see another sort of walk that we as humans can take. It is a walk toward forgiveness. 

In the movie many of the perpetrators were released after  pleading guilty and showing remorse. But the story did not end there. The movie shows more--the movement toward reconciliation takes more than that; it involves more steps, a more complete journey. The perpetrators are shown walking to the villages and sitting across from victims, family members and survivors asking forgiveness, asking for mercy. The movie pointed out the need to receive forgiveness but also of the importance for the survivors to show mercy, forgiveness in order to live. It didn't and doesn't happen easily but is an active process and takes action and work. 

Reinhold Niebuhr wrote, "forgiveness is the final (or highest) form of love."

We take many walks in our lives...these two movies reminded me of two more...a parade of justice and a walk for mercy--both were hard work. 

Wholeness and Forgiveness

I keep reading and re-reading the information in John Brierley’s book A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Camino de Santiago.  And today I came across a note about Pilgrim Passport, Protocol, and Prayer.

            He reminds pilgrims to get a credencial (passport for the Camino) from your local confraternity---and join it. You can get a passport once you get to Spain but it’s really awesome to have it ahead of time.

            Brierley says to have consideration for your fellow pilgrims and gratitude for your hosts. This just seems like great advice as we move through our journeys of life. As we encounter the pilgrims and hosts alike that we meet each day—be considerate and grateful. You have no idea of their journey; no idea of their struggles; no idea of their story—take time to listen—have consideration and gratitude.

            And finally he says, may every step be a prayer for peace and an extension of loving-kindness. I wonder how different might our days be if every step was a prayer for peace and an extension of mercy? How different might this world be if every step was a prayer for wholeness and a prayer of forgiveness not just for oneself but also for others?

            These are my thoughts today as I going tripping into grace…

Earth Day Blessings

So today’s blog post is in honor of EARTH DAY and for my love of Celtic blessings. I have recently discovered that the Celts may have walked The Camino long before it became a pilgrimage for Christians. Here is a little bit of trivia or history--the Milky Way (Via Lactea) was used by both the Celts and the later pilgrims traveling to Santiago de Compostela. (Compostela means Field of Stars—thus “pilgrims” of all sorts used the Milky Way to guide them to Santiago de Compostela).

Here are some Celtic Blessings for Earth Day! Enjoy! And enjoy the blessings of this world!

If God sends you down a stony path,

may God give you strong shoes.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,

May the clarity of light be yours,

May the fluency of the ocean be yours,

May the protections of the ancestors be yours.

May green be the grass you walk on,

May blue be the skies above you,

May pure be the joys that surround you,

May true be the hearts that love you.

shout out to http://rita-underthemilkyway.blogspot.com/2009/06/under-milky-way.html

for some amazing pictures especially some of the milky way (you'll have to go look at them)

shout out to Faith and Worship for the blessings!

http://www.faithandworship.com/Celtic_Blessings_and_Prayers.htm#ixzz3Y4VNhGSI

Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

Paths of Enquiry

John Brierley in his book, A Pilgrims Guide to the Camino de Santiago, writes: 
"Along every path of enquiry there comes a point that requires a leap of faith, when we have to abandon the security of out-dated dogma handed down to us over millennia. When we reach that point we have to let go of the safety of the familiar and dive into the unknown with nothing but our faith to support us." 

Many more of us need to find ourselves on "paths of enquiry" so that we can "dive into the unknown" with just our faith to support us...

I wonder....