Welcome

My dear friends, I don’t know much about blogs, but I am starting one now.  Why you may ask?  Beginning this Thursday, September 20, 2012, I am flying to France to begin a pilgrimage in France and mostly Spain called “The Way of Saint James,” or in Spanish, “ Camino de Santiago”.

The “Camino” (for short) is a long four hundred ninety mile road that ends at the (supposed) burial site of St. James the Apostle.  This is St. James, the brother of the Apostle John.  These brothers were often called “Sons of Thunder.”

It will take a little over forty days (God willing) for me to walk the entire length of the Camino - praying, singing, studying, and memorizing scripture as I go.  This journey is not to sow my wild oats or to add to my ever-expanding list of adventures.  In fact, Dr. Timothy Keller says that there is a difference between an adventure and a quest.  An “adventure” is often an exciting and remarkable experience that frequently involves risk.  A “quest” can also involve great risk and it may also include exciting experiences.  But a quest is deeper than that.  It is a search or pursuit made in order to obtain something. For various reasons, the individual on the quest is moving towards a goal. When he reaches that goal, or even if he does not, he is never the same for having taken the risk and having taken the journey.

In the last four years, I have experienced a lot of loss and have grieved much over these losses.  This quest, or as I will share more about later, “pilgrimage,” is my way of seeking the Lord, of getting my head clear, of challenging my body, and of placing myself along a path to hear and see the Lord and his creation with renewed ears and eyes.  

My prayer is that, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, I will be a different person when I return.  Now, obviously, I will still be the Martha that many of you know.  I will still love my Rwandese friends; I will still pull for the UNC Tarheels; I will still have a crazy sense of humor; and unfortunately, I will still love Oreos (maybe).  Those things won’t change.  But I hope that, deep down, my priorities will be realigned and that my hope in the Lord and for his purpose in my life will be rekindled.

I will be staying at hostels along the trail, often called “aubergues” or “refugios” or even “hospitales”.  I will eat at small restaurants and storefront diners along the road.  And I will be carrying all of my belongings in a backpack.  Because of this, I will not take my computer (or as one friend inquired, my scales! J)  I will try to stop along the way and write some of my thoughts and experiences at Internet cafes, etc.  My writing will probably not be as polished as I might like, due to the lack of time or energy when I am writing.  But I hope you, my friends, and even you who do not know me well, will enjoy the journey with me. I hope you will rejoice and weep with me too.  More than anything, I cherish your prayers.  I want to hear the Lord, to fall more in love with Christ, to relinquish my own agenda and to move along (and forward) with eager expectations, not only to start and complete this journey, but to embrace the continued journey that God has for me when I return home.  I invite you to join me in this.