GREAT EXPECTATIONS

I’ve been preparing myself for walking the Camino Portuguese mostly by taking walks, reading memoirs, and working out at the gym. Last week I added something else. I returned to a Five Day Academy for Spiritual Formation to prepare my spirit for this walk.

On my first Camino in 2019 I had no idea what to expect and I deliberately tried to not formulate any expectations. I had a wonderful time on that Camino. I encountered the Holy in so many places and at surprising times. The tinkle of a cow’s bell still takes me back to the Pyrenees where I first felt that I was walking on sacred ground. Or the time I walked past a 14th century convent that had been converted into a hostal and heard a sort of angelic music only to turn the corner to find a colorful cafe/bar serving pilgrims.

That was my first Camino and I maintained a “no expectations” frame of mind for subsequent walks because I remember at the first Five Day Academy I attended one of our speakers said that we make a mistake asking God to “do it again God, do it again”. because the spiritual experience was so wonderful. But while we’re asking God to “do it again” God is saying, “I have something even more wonderful for you.”   That has always stuck with me.  I don’t want to relegate God to one experience.  I believe God is dynamic and creative and I don’t want to miss anything that God chooses to grace me with.

Full disclosure…sometimes I do want God to “do it again!” 🤫🤭

Buen Camino