The Sun Comes Up, Its a New Day Dawning! (By Lorraine)

Every day I find myself reliving a moment of the Camino, even now, eight months after we finished the walk.

This picture was one of the most beautiful sun rises we saw. The picture does not really show the magnificence of it. Each cloud was lined with gold and the rays of the sun stretched so far across the sky! I just stood in awe as it slowly changed to a normal sunny sky.

I was so thankful that we got out and on our way in time to see it. Had we been just a few minutes later we would have missed it.

Today I have one of the songs going through my head that  I sang many times on those days as we saw the sun coming up.

It goes like this:

The sun comes up
It's a new day dawning
The earth will sing its song again
Whatever may pass 
and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing 
when the evening comes.

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before 
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name.

I have to admit that at the end of most days I was too tired to literally be singing, but my heart and soul were still singing praise to God for the strength he gave me each day and for the wonders of his creation that we were blessed to be able to see each day.  We are so blessed!

When I was standing on the top of the magnificent Pyrenees Mountains, and as I watched the sun rise and set, I am sure I heard "the earth singing its song"!

Buen Camino!

“Every Camino is a New Experience” (by Lorraine)

It was brought to my attention as we talked about our Camino with the Pastors from our Central Canada District a few days ago, that our Camino revolved around the people we met.

Other pilgrims, when they report on their  Camino, may talk of the cathedrals and how totally beautiful they were. Some may focus on the awesome, majestic views of the countryside, from everywhere; on top of the mountains and looking up from the valleys.  It was impossible to look around and not give praise to God for the miracle of his creation!

But it did not occur to me, until someone made the statement, that our talk is “all about the people.” 

The cathedrals were wonderful, but after seeing so many, and not really knowing the rituals and meanings of everything in the Catholic church, after a while, we did not go out of our way to see more churches.

The countryside was spectacular! And every day I gave praise to God for the beauty of everything, from amazing sunrises, walking above the clouds, sunsets, and nature in all its wonders.

But the one who said “it’s all about the people” was so right!

We met the most wonderful people!  Some shared their life journey with us.  Some made us laugh...some made us cry. Some taught us lessons. Some will remain friends forever, thanks to easy communication. Some we will never see again, but we hope they will remember that we tried to be their friend, even though we did not know their language. You don’t need language to show you care.

We have mentioned in our talks that we very much want to go back and do this Camino again. Some say “but not the same Camino!”  “You would walk somewhere else, right?”

So now, my great “Ah ha!” moment has happened.

 

We could walk the same Camino over and over and every time it would be a new Camino! 

Why? Because we are never going to meet the same people!  This Camino was definitely all about the people for us, with cathedrals and majestic countryside as the icing on the cake! 

So when we return, when, not if, we will experience a “New Camino”!

Buen Camino!