K Turner
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- August-October 2019 CF
My husband and I made it from SJPP to Santiago yesterday. I am sore, exhausted, and ecstatic! We didn't arrive until well into the afternoon, so we received our compostelas this morning. The volunteers are terrific!
Many said I couldn't do the Camino, and that I wouldn't make it. I was dreaming of it every night, and I knew I had to follow the call. Now I can joyously show the certificate...along with the tattoo I had done today!
Thank you to all of you here who have so kindly offered advice, suggestions, and encouraging words.
Gratefully,
Keesha
P.S. A blurb I wrote last night:
I don't even know how to begin summarizing my Camino. My main goal was a journey to learn to listen to God and trust His plan. Having a progressive illness, I find that the more I lose in my life, the more I try to take back control.
I heard about the existence of Camino angels, those who show up when you least expect them and when you need them the most. I fell down the stairs at a monastery/albergue in Santo Domingo de la Calzada. I dislocated a bone in my foot, which isn't unusual for me, but I didn't stop to fix it right away. When I finally arrived in Grañon, not only was my husband anxiously waiting, but I was swarmed with concerned pilgrims I had never even met. He'd told them what happened and they all waited to make sure I got there ok. I was offered advice, braces, medicine, and countless kind words from more than a dozen pilgrim strangers. They didn't leave for the next stage until knowing all was well. These were my Camino angels.
I had the chance to pay it forward just before Rabanal, when a woman fell and split her forehead open in two places. Nursing experience allowed me to clean her up best I could, get the bleeding under control, and see her off to a doctor for suturing. We stayed in town an extra day to be sure she was all right, and indeed she was doing great. We wondered about her after that but a week passed, our journeys seemingly staggered. This morning, moments after beginning our final day of walking, there she was, next to us on the sidewalk. We are so grateful to know she suffered no complications after the fact.
The Camino isn't always a bed of roses. It was painful, both physically and emotionally. I broke down on the final approach to the Cruz de Ferro. I thought it would be an emotional experience, but had no idea just how true that was. I realized the weight of the baggage I was clinging to so desperately. I carried with me six rocks on behalf of others; some are still with me, some are not, and some are reaching the end of their journey in this life. I prayed for each person over those symbolic stones. Leaving them behind at the foot of the cross, I surrendered the fear, the anxiety, the anger, and the control I foolishly thought I held. I walked away lighter in spirit, many burdens left behind.
As I sit here tonight in Santiago, I am grateful for my fellow pilgrims. They are the "strangers I know." Our journeys may be for different reasons, but ultimately we are alike. Each person's Camino is a quest. Maybe some need to let go of burdens, or simply want a physical challenge or to see a beautiful land. We all have our reasons for being on the Way, and all paths really do lead to Santiago!
Many said I couldn't do the Camino, and that I wouldn't make it. I was dreaming of it every night, and I knew I had to follow the call. Now I can joyously show the certificate...along with the tattoo I had done today!
Thank you to all of you here who have so kindly offered advice, suggestions, and encouraging words.
Gratefully,
Keesha
P.S. A blurb I wrote last night:
I don't even know how to begin summarizing my Camino. My main goal was a journey to learn to listen to God and trust His plan. Having a progressive illness, I find that the more I lose in my life, the more I try to take back control.
I heard about the existence of Camino angels, those who show up when you least expect them and when you need them the most. I fell down the stairs at a monastery/albergue in Santo Domingo de la Calzada. I dislocated a bone in my foot, which isn't unusual for me, but I didn't stop to fix it right away. When I finally arrived in Grañon, not only was my husband anxiously waiting, but I was swarmed with concerned pilgrims I had never even met. He'd told them what happened and they all waited to make sure I got there ok. I was offered advice, braces, medicine, and countless kind words from more than a dozen pilgrim strangers. They didn't leave for the next stage until knowing all was well. These were my Camino angels.
I had the chance to pay it forward just before Rabanal, when a woman fell and split her forehead open in two places. Nursing experience allowed me to clean her up best I could, get the bleeding under control, and see her off to a doctor for suturing. We stayed in town an extra day to be sure she was all right, and indeed she was doing great. We wondered about her after that but a week passed, our journeys seemingly staggered. This morning, moments after beginning our final day of walking, there she was, next to us on the sidewalk. We are so grateful to know she suffered no complications after the fact.
The Camino isn't always a bed of roses. It was painful, both physically and emotionally. I broke down on the final approach to the Cruz de Ferro. I thought it would be an emotional experience, but had no idea just how true that was. I realized the weight of the baggage I was clinging to so desperately. I carried with me six rocks on behalf of others; some are still with me, some are not, and some are reaching the end of their journey in this life. I prayed for each person over those symbolic stones. Leaving them behind at the foot of the cross, I surrendered the fear, the anxiety, the anger, and the control I foolishly thought I held. I walked away lighter in spirit, many burdens left behind.
As I sit here tonight in Santiago, I am grateful for my fellow pilgrims. They are the "strangers I know." Our journeys may be for different reasons, but ultimately we are alike. Each person's Camino is a quest. Maybe some need to let go of burdens, or simply want a physical challenge or to see a beautiful land. We all have our reasons for being on the Way, and all paths really do lead to Santiago!
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