Follow in His Footsteps

On the 24th I was just too tired to write anything when we got to our hotel in Astorga.  The road was wearingly long and rough.  There were only a few miles without rocks that made balance difficult and were tough on the feet - hence the blisters.  The last miles into Astorga were almost too much for me, but I persevered. 

 

Have you ever taken a mule ride down into the Grand Canyon?  I did when I was younger than I am now - much younger.  After the 10 or so of us were all up on our mules - all ages including children and people who were at the age at find myself and older - we were told that the mules had walked the route, hugging the canyon wall, inches from the edge, for years.  Accidents only happened when one mule list sight of the one ahead of it:  we were told that it was very important, for us to keep our mule  within sight of the one ahead!

Walking the Camino is something like that!  Since I had slowed my pace due to pain,  I felt support and confident if. I could see Pat or Janice and Peter ahead of me.  It is something like that with God.  It is important to keep our eyes fixed on The Lord.  Taking our eyes off of him abandons us to our own foibles and predelictions.  That never ends well.  

This is the Cathedral in Astorga - it was closed on Sinday when we went by - would have loved to go inside.

But today is still Memotial Day here.  So I want to remember my dad, my uncles, and my Aunt Ruth who served in WWII.  This prayer by Episcpal Bishop James Magness is eminently suitable:

Lord God Almighty, whose only Son sought not to preserve his life but to make the ultimate sacrifice so that we might have abundant life, we remember this day the personal sacrifices made by many of our fellow citizens in the service of their country. On this day we pause, however briefly, to remember and recall those who gave the last measure of their lives for their faith, their country and their fellow compatriots in arms. The record of their courage is in the hands of history and the vestige of their lives is at rest in our memories. Grant that we and all the citizens of this land may have the grace to honor their good deeds as in righteousness we strive for peace among all the people of God's creation. Remembering their sacrifice, we rededicate ourselves to the tradition of courage that you, our Lord, have instilled in us. Give us a deep sense of reverence for life that is tempered by a passionate desire for justice. Continue in us the valor of those who have woven this tradition into the fabric of our country. This we pray in the name of the one God who creates, redeems and sustains. AMEN.