Helen and Hunter have both written eloquently about our first week home and I will not repeat their observations other than to say that Helen's Henri Nouwen quote "that life's interruptions are the places where you are being molded into the person that you are called to be" has helped to change my perspective on expectations. I now know that my expectations have given me a very skewed view of life and I am much more open than previously to going with God's flow and being satisfied.
One of the questions that I have been asked repeatedly by many people since returning home is how I intend to live the lessons of the Camino going forward. In one of my earlier posts, I shared some lessons that God was teaching me. Over the kilometers of trail after that post, God confirmed to me that those lessons were indeed the ones He was impressing on my heart. I have been praying daily that God will not let me forget these lessons.
While walking, I found that life slowed down a lot and that I was able to really focus on the present and appreciate the people and things around me. Since returning home, I have felt like I have completely new eyes to see, but know that it is because God has changed my heart.
I hope that you who are reading this (if you are reading this you care about me and I am thankful for you) will keep me accountable for these lessons and remind me of them when you see me slipping back into unhealthy patterns of living. Most of you know me to be a very rigid, controlled kind of person; spontaneity has never been my middle name. No more! Going forward, as on the Camino, I cannot tell you where God will lead me, I only know that I will follow and obey what He tells me. I will care for and enjoy the people that He puts in my path. I will accept what comes as God's best for me and trust Him for His provision. I will no longer measure progress by how much I have accomplished or produced, but by how often I heard God's voice.
Thanks to all of you who prayed for us while we were gone. We could feel your prayers and they strengthened and encouraged us.
