One day I decided to go for a walk...

WHAT WILL THE TEMPERATURE BE???

There is a heat wave right now in Europe. It’s been described as hellish, sizzling, and scorching 😩

I took each of my girls to France when they were teenagers and I always remember Paris as being sweltering in July. We stayed with my cousin and her apartment had no air conditioning. This was not good. Leaving the windows open at night when there was some respite from the heat was a double edged sword. Yes it was marginally cooler but the street noise kept us awake and since she had no screens on the windows the aerial assault of mosquitoes was a force to be reckoned with.

🦟🦟🦟🦟😮

I have a weather app in which I entered most of the towns along the Camino. This is a sampling of the temperatures today.

I can only hope that the humidity isn’t that high 🥵

BEADS! THEY’RE NOT JUST FOR JEWELRY

The desert fathers and mothers often used beads to help them focus in their prayer times. This is true across religions. Islam, Catholicism, Buddhism, Greek Orthodox, and more all use prayer beads. I bought myself a rosary (and I’m not catholic) made of olive wood 15 years ago while visiting Norte Dame de Paris with my oldest daughter. I would pray a verse of scripture and meditate on its meaning

For my birthday my husband bought me a beautiful rosary dedicated to St. James and the Camino de Santiago. Santiago means Saint James. It’s really pretty as you can see.

However I’ve decided to not take it on the Camino. It’s quite heavy and I don’t feel comfortable carrying it while I pray and walk. So I found this smaller simpler rosary to take on the Camino.

Since I’m not catholic I don’t really know how to say a rosary. My understanding is that one starts with the crucifix/cross and recites the apostle’s creed , the next bead is for the Lord’s Prayer, the smaller beads are for the Hail Mary, and then the Glory Be, also known as the Gloria Patri.

The Hail Mary feels a little long for me to memorize so I’ve decided to say the Jesus prayer instead.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

Or…the expurgated version…Jesus Christ have mercy on me.

Most of the time I like to sing the Gloria Patri. I wasn’t really raised in the church but for a time we did attend a Lutheran church and we did sing the Gloria Patri every worship service as part of the liturgy. My heart feels a little closer to God when I sing it.

🎼 Glory be to the Father,

🎼 and to the Son

🎼 and to the Holy Ghost.

🎼 As it was in the beginning,

🎼 is now and ever shall be.

🎼 World without end.

🎼 Amen Amen

So that’s part of my prayer plan for the Camino. I know I’ll be in good company since the desert mothers and fathers, the saints of old, and the great cloud of witnesses all used some type of bead or stone to help them focus on their prayers. I won’t be alone as I take this exciting external and internal journey.

DOING THE PASO DOBLE

My husband got a package in the mail. He actually gets a lot of packages…very small quick drying towels, tiny cork screws, chewable tablets of toothpaste, you know…stuff to take on the Camino. So I didn’t think anything about this one. It’s probably one more thing that I had no idea existed. Well I know you’re just dying to know what was in it so I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. He ordered a bunch of CDs of Spanish music. No kidding it was all Spanish music! And the one on top really caught my eye. It was Bullfight Music From Spain.

I just had to put it on right away. The trumpets heralding the matador into the ring, the castanets clacking like tap dancers. That bullfighting music with its pulsing beat filled me with a desire to get up and dance.

When I was little my dad used to say that if I was tired of walking I could always run. Well if I get tired of walking on the Camino I just might dance to some bullfight music.

💃🏻🕺🏻

If you want to see what some good bullfighting music can do, check out this YouTube clip from the movie Shall We Dance where the character Link (Stanley Tucci) dances the Paso Doble to this well known Spanish music. Warning: there is a little spicy language in the beginning.

https://youtu.be/NUXt-stAcRw

FRAILTY THY NAME IS WOMAN

That’s the line that Shakespeare’s Hamlet says in response to his mother’s quick remarriage after his father’s death. Hamlet, and I suppose Shakespeare are talking about an emotional frailty not her physical stamina. But that line has been dogging (no pun intended and you’ll soon see why I say that) for the last week.

Last week I called my youngest daughter and asked if I could spend some time with my grandson. He’s two years old. My husband is out of town and since my time is all my own I thought it would be perfect. It turns out that her husband was also out of town so it was doubly ideal that I was available.

We set a time for 1:00 pm as they have a nanny in the morning so I could be at their home when she dropped him off. Then my daughter asked if I could come a little early to take their dog Coco for a walk. I love dogs and said yes.

Coco is a beautiful mixed breed dog that they found at a shelter. I don’t know her make up, but she’s a short haired hound that probably weighs about 40 pounds. This is in contrast to my Pico, a Maltese/Shih Tzu who weighs 12 pounds.

So I showed up early and took Coco for a walk.

That evening I told my daughter that Coco and I were fine but whereas I just hold the leash so Pico can’t wander too much I wasn’t prepared for how hard Coco could tug on the leash. That’s when she told me her husband was concerned about me walking Coco because I’m such a “dainty woman”

What?! 😮 Dainty?! Me???

How can I walk the Camino if I’m dainty? I need to be tough. The soles of my feet must be like leather, my muscles strong, my stamina unsurpassed. I can’t be dainty!

Dainty prances around but can’t possible climb a mountain. Dainty will melt in the rain or wither in the heat!

What if I really am dainty and can’t walk the Camino? Yesterday I walked 13.5 miles and today I walked 6.3 miles. Now I have a blister on my little toe and it hurts. I limped from the parking lot to the Apple Store to take a videography class this afternoon and it hurt 😖😫😟

Please God, give me strength and courage to make this pilgrimage. Walk beside me and hold my hand when it gets tough. Turn this fear to peace. And God…help my blister to heal quickly. Amen

Psalm 28:7 (NRSV)

The Lord is my strength and my shield;

in him my heart trusts;

so I am helped, and my heart exults,

and with my song I give thanks to him.

Note: I had great time with my grandson 🤗

AN ALTAR UPDATE

On May 20th I wrote a post about finding an altar of rocks along the path I was walking. Since then a devastating tornado ripped through Dayton leaving my home untouched and the walls of other homes torn apart so you can see into the rooms like a child’s dollhouse.

Last Sunday we were taking another long walk that took us through the metro park past the dam. I was thinking about all the destruction that tornado wrought and I wondered if my little altar of rocks had survived.

Now I know that the tornado didn’t pass by the dam so I shouldn’t have been anxious or surprised to see that the altar was still there. But there was something that spoke to me after seeing trees with three foot diameter trunks be uprooted and yet these stones, gently and carefully placed one atop the other should remain unscathed.

The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand forever

Isaiah 40:8

DEAR GOD

Dear God,

This week several tornadoes came through Dayton, Ohio. I slept through them and when I looked out my window I didn’t see any sign of damage. My trash and recycling cans are right where I left them. And yet around the corner tree limbs littered the street and less than two miles away walls have been torn off of buildings leaving the interiors exposed like doll houses.

Dear God

What am I thinking of this morning? I’m thinking of a 15 miles walk ahead of me and I’m worried I won’t make it. Did I bring enough water? Do I have an extra pair of socks? Did I apply enough sunscreen so as not to get a sunburn?

Dear God,

My prayers are small and self centered. Open my eyes and ears to see the world as You see it. Open my mouth to whisper the words of comfort that your world needs from me. And if you have time, please don’t let me get a blister. Amen

PILGRIMS, THEY’RE ALL OVER THE PLACE’

Each year about 250,000 people walk the Camino de Santiago. The majority of those are European, more than 90%. About 5% are Americans, that’s about 12,500. The population of the United States is 325 million.

https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/us-population/

That means that about .0008% of the US population walk the Camino each year.

.0008%!!!

You might think that you would never come across another pilgrim but I have not found that to be true. Two years ago at a 5 Day Academy for Spiritual Formation retreat one of the members in my covenant group was about to embark on the Camino.

Then there was the day in an REI store where I was trying on shoes. I casually mentioned to a woman next to me that we were going on the Camino. She was so excited. She said, “We did that last year!”

Then about six months ago at a session of the 2 Year Academy for Spiritual Formation one of the attendees invited a guest for the week. She was in the room next to mine so we frequently saw each other coming and going and had a chance to talk. I told her that some of us had been talking about the Camino and I was going to do it. She said, “I did the Camino.” We spent a lot of time that week sharing meals and talking about her experience. She had a presentation on her laptop and I helped arrange for her to give a talk to those interested during our free time. She even had a manuscript which she asked me to read. And a few months ago it was published on amazon.

Click here to see Sarah’s book on Amazon

Full disclosure-Sarah gave me a copy of her book after I read her manuscript.

This Memorial Day weekend my husband and I decided to take a trip to Lexington to do some hiking. Going through the breakfast line I was chatting with a woman and I mention we were going hiking, training for the Camino. She said, “I did the Camino in 2008. You’re going to have a blast!” She told me all about their pilgrimage and sent me some of her photos. I’m looking forward to exchanging more emails with her.

These fellow pilgrims have been a source of comfort and edification to me. There’s a certain shared experience that they are all anxious to tell. They know that this is going to be an experience like no other for me. They all reassure me that I will make it through this journey and that it will change me.

It’s as if camino pilgrims are meant to find each other.

CARRY NO PURSE, NO BAG, NO SANDALS

Luke 10:1-23 tells the story of Jesus sending out the 70. They are to make disciples ( the harvest is plenty, but the workers are few). They are to take nothing, enter a town, bless a household, eat what is given them, heal the sick, and share the message that the Kingdom of God is near.

Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals

I’ll be carrying a 28 liter backpack filled with clothing, toiletries, food, cell phone, portable keyboard, cables & extra batteries, and more. While the exact contents are not fully decided upon this pack will weigh around 15 pounds. Right now I’m in awe of those disciples who carried nothing. I’m packing at least 3 pairs of socks: 1 to wear, 1 to change into at midday, 1 to wear the next day in case the two I wash at night aren’t dry by morning.

Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals

What would Jesus say to me if he saw my backpack? Would he jokingly roll his eyes, smile, and say, “My child you have all that you need.” Would he see my fear of being vulnerable without a backup battery? Doesn’t he know how frightened I am trying to figure out what I truly need?

Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals

Oh God help me to know what it is that I really need and trust that it will be enough. Amen

WEIRD STUFF WE BOUGHT FOR THE CAMINO

Five years ago my husband and I went to Italy for an organized bike ride through Tuscany. We have travelled quite a bit in Europe, mostly in France as I have family there and several other places in Europe for business in which I, as the devoted wife, must go to keep my husband from being lonely. Anyway, Italy has long been on my list of places to visit and now we were going.

Since I’ve been to France several times I try to not look or act too much like a tourist. So you can imagine my surprise the first day as we were walking through Florence when I saw this!

Do you see that thing clipped to the collar of my husband’s shirt?! That, my friends, is what’s known as a hat clip. It’s so the wind won’t blow your hat away or if you take the hat off you won’t forget it because it’s still attached to you. I was horrified and rightfully made fun of him for looking so much like a tourist. In fact I made fun of him for years whenever he wore that thing until… I bought a hat for the Camino. And since I have a tendency to put things down and forget to pick them up I thought it would be a good idea to get one.

Click here to see the one I bought.

I do not receive anything in return for including this link.

And you can make fun of me 🤪

AN ALTAR HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

Yesterday on our walk through the Metro Park and dam I was looking at all the rocks along the side of the dam (you might say they are “dam” rocks ;-)). I was also thinking about the Cruz de Ferro (Iron Cross) on the Camino.

The Cruz de Ferro is an iron cross along the Camino and tradition has it that pilgrims bring a rock along their journey from home to place at the foot of the cross. Often times the rock symbolizes a particular prayer or a question that the pilgrim is seeking an answer to on the Camino.

There is a beautiful well written description of the Cruz de Ferro at this link here.

So I was walking along the foot of the dam just looking at all the rocks…

I was imagining all the prayers that might be attached to those rocks and suddenly I saw a carefully stacked set of rocks that could not have naturally ended up in that way. Someone went out of their way to create an altar here in this place.

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses all built altars to God. I wonder who placed these stones and what their prayer was. What stone will I take on the Camino and what will my prayer be?

What will God answer?