Specialness

This life stage inevitably finds me sorting through various shards of life I have been cobbling together. Sometimes consolidation of parts and pieces occur that once seemed random and unconnected. It is exciting when a direction or a pattern appears that seems to tie together several formerly invisible segments of my 70+ year-old story.

I remember in my youth I had definite feelings that I was headed for something good, something special. It was an inexplicable sense as nothing about me, my family or my life gave me any reason to have such a "feeling".  Mind you, this sense I had was not a constant presence in my life. It would only show itself to me occasionally, sporadically. I never mentioned it to anyone else. I think I felt like it was nothing I could adequately explain nor did I expect it would be well received by others...ie. "Well aren't you the special one!"

As my so-called career took shape, I sometimes saw victories or opportunities just over the horizon which made me to wonder if this or that thing would usher in the 'specialness' for which I believed I was destined. But near misses, lack of confidence and some risk adverseness all ultimately contributed to keeping me squarely in my 'ordinary' lane.

Quite recently, a picture began to form that could only become clear after looking back at an arc that is decades old. This arc, as I now see it, began on my 11th birthday. Mom and dad threw a birthday party for me and a couple of my friends. The featured event was a movie in downtown St.Paul....'The Ten Commandments'. I remember being quite moved by that movie!  I distinctly recall  leaving the theater, walking in the spring air and feeling smitten by the film. I was not much of a prayer but I remember telling God that I wanted to somehow be a part of what I had just seen. That was it...quite simple really. I had no idea how that might occur but my emotion was real and it left an indelible memory.

Time went on and by late high school and early twenties my life was just too full of pleasure seeking, girl craziness and some friends that triggered and fueled the worst part of Jim (I totally own it was ultimately me and not my friends!). However, on May 19, 1975, at the age of 28, what I now know to be a cataclysmic event occurred. Without belaboring the background and circumstances, I found myself on a dock behind the Lake Harriet band shell at 2:00 AM. I was moved to have an honest state of the union, one-way talk with God about the emptiness of my life and feeling like a BB in a box car, endlessly ricocheting back and forth against the walls of life. Though I appeared to others to be doing well, I knew better. I was ungrounded, aimless and empty.

Miraculously (to me), God opened the eyes of my heart to the fact that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. I responded by giving him my life without any idea of what that really even meant or what to expect. I only remember walking off that dock with a sense of having just transacted a momentous agreement with God.  I was excited to go to church so as to worship the person I had just met and heard from for the very first time!

In the ensuing years, of course, a lot of life occurred. Duh!  There were my years at Campus Church where I gained my initial growth in becoming a follower of Jesus. Marriage, the birth of Jess and Jenna and my entry into a healthcare career all followed.  By the mid-eighties the little foxes in my garden had significantly chewed their way in and I crossed some lines. I ultimately reaped a very dark crop from the dark seeds I had sown.  A decade of wandering and being untethered followed. 

In 2000 an invitation from Jill H. at North Heights church ultimately brought Sandi into my life and a marriage I had not seen coming. A 2003 Colorado Wild at Heart boot camp led me to an opportunity to step up and into more of what God had for me. Learning about hearing and trusting the voice of Father followed over the next decade. Finally I approached what had never seemed possible...retirement. John 15:5b was opened to me and the desire to pursue a deeper union with the Trinity became my guiding light and life rudder. T.Merton and the mystics (sounds like a 70's rock band) enriched my study. I became a firm believer in getting busy with pursuing a deeper intimacy with Christ now rather than waiting for the sweet by and by. A Camino call came. Covid kicked it to the curb for 3 years but in August, 2023 it was revived and I departed for a solo pilgrimage across Spain. My eyes were further opened...

I sit here typing about the curved line of a 67 year arc which I now see with greater clarity. My loving, gentle, persistent Papa appropriated at least part of my heart early on in my journey. Throughout the years, my belief and commitment to Truth vied with the undisciplined aspects of my free will. With amazing patience and tenacity, Jesus stood by me through every one of my self-serving decisions and  their consequences. Slowly, oh-so-slowly, my eyes were opened to what I believe to be the heart of the Gospel and why I believe it is called the "good news". Yes, it is far more than mere salvation (as good as that is!). I was chosen, created in the image of God, to live in union with Him for all eternity. I don't have to wait for death to begin stepping into this destiny. I can pursue a deeper intimacy with Christ now, today, as I more fully surrender the self-centered orientation of my life for a more robust commitment to being a follower of, a disciple of, the Trinity, "...even as he chose us (me) in him before the foundation of the world..."  

My pursuit of all this feels so late-in-the-game and so incomplete. It is also not a subject that makes for good conversation with most people. It is difficult to effectively articulate and it is very easily misunderstood. In my experience, organized religion just doesn't adequately address union with Christ in their typical Sunday offerings. But then who could blame them. To preach 'come die to self and follow the mystical Christ' is hardly a message that mass markets well!

Regardless, I am now fully convinced that my early sense of being destined for something special couldn't have been more true. Granted, not in the worldly ways I often found myself looking for it. But now, as the ballgame of life moves toward it's conclusion, I am convinced that the promise of eternal life with the Creator of the universe is my reality. I was created in God's image and what is the most true thing about me is my identity in Christ. Although death for me will be the end of my earthly sojourn, it will be the return of Santiago to the very source of my life. To fully step up and into what Father has prepared for me is nothing if not SPECIAL!

 

 

 

Ordinary mystic ... Rant #2 of ??

So part of my identity, how I operate, is that of an activator. I use the term as used in the Gallop Strength Finder book that identifies thirty-four basic strengths that human beings possess and utilize in their journey through life. One of my top five strengths was what Gallop terms 'Activator'. Essentially, how it manifests in me is that I am unable to live with myself with any kind of procrastination. I dislike lists of 'to-dos'. I seek to stay 'caught up'.  Too often Sandi has mentioned something she may have heard downstairs only to see me get up from the table right then and there to investigate and solve. It can be a strength but it sometimes causes me to go overboard. 

Regardless, when I retired from my career seven years ago I had been reading in John and was freshly smitten by the picture of the branch being connected to the vine. Jesus as my vine, who has all of the elixir of life needed to nourish my earthly pilgrimage.  To ever so slowly transform me into a closer alignment to the image of God in which I was created.

In Genesis we have the picture of a garden, God and Adam and Eve. There was a union that was so complete between these individuals that I believe they were essentially only one person. Until Chapter 3, Adam and Eve were in absolute oneness with God. They walked with him, talked with him, were nurtured by him, walked in nakedness and were unashamed. They did not have any agenda of their own but walked as one with the will of their Father. Of course, Chapter 3 brings us the scene of the pair ultimately buying the lie of the devil and results in the loss of their Godly union and the beginning of now two separate, self-referential lives, guided by their own separate free wills.  The manner of life that was part of the original plan was now broken. 

Within the sixty-six books of the Bible, we read the stories of God's plan and efforts to restore humankind's capacity for oneness with God. God's only begotten son ultimately becomes incarnate as man and is murdered on a cross. A deep mystery occurs...the "deep magic" Lewis describes in the last book of the Chronicles of Narnia. God becomes man that man might become like God. By Jesus surrendering to death, death is ultimately defeated and is no longer the only eternal conclusion of a human life. And amidst these spiritual transactions lies mystery, lots and lots of mystery.

As I understand it, what I have spoken of above was the common understanding of the church for 1500 years. The reformation and the renaissance ushered in some major changes in the way in which many believers approached their faith and how they interpreted the scriptures. But prior to this. all believing Christians believed in and pursued oneness with Christ as a normal part of their walk with God. 

Fast forwarding to today, the word mystic gives the average evangelical the yips. Sounds and feels too close to new age, eastern religion and other cultish expressions of truth. Today, many in the church are unable to embrace that God still speaks to his followers, that we can and will experience God in specific ways along our journey, that union with God can be pursued and experienced on this side of life as a normal part of being a Christian follower of Jesus.

Seven years ago, it made total sense to me to use the gift of time my retirement would provide and use it to intentionally pursue a deeper connectedness with Christ. That mysterious point where branch and vine join and are no longer separate but of one essence. I believe that I will experience this oneness fully when I graduate to the home prepared for me.  No use waiting! Seems to me I should be about positioning myself now for God to have full access to my inner being. To be about giving the Trinity the freedom/access to transform those parts of me that need their touch. That is my spiritual focus today.

Paul wrote to the Galatians:  "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with it's passions and desires",  I have been given the desire to be about that transformative process in the years I have left on earth. We are all being transformed daily. The question is by what or by whom. I want to be found to "be all in" as I relinquish my tight grip on controlling my life. I strongly believe Jesus meant what he said in John 15 ".....because apart from me you can do nothing". To me, that feels like my marching orders to take my focus off of me, me, me and onto Him, Him, Him.  And. as always, it's not about being religious....it's about relationship!

Ordinary mystic....Rant #1 of ??

 Hmmmm...I have wanted to spill out some words regarding things for a bit now. Today's walk in the rain seemed to unlock a door and I heard myself describing some positional/philosophical points that are in my present orbit. I am thinking of Paul Newman in The Hustler when he wanted to play some games of pool "fast and loose". So do I Paul...here, now. Seeking some flow-age, low in editing, ready-fire-aim kind of writing attitude.  Certainly not for the erudite. One caveat: could be some edges with a lack of velvet sheathing. The glint of sharp metal in the sun. Attitude-wise, I have been walking on some pretty constrained paths recently and am aware of a certain "pent-up" posture that I seek to provide some pressure relief in the fast and looseness of 500' Flyby!

So let us commence...

In this free age of self-identification with just about anything, I identify as an ordinary Christian mystic. You might as well give my address to the doctrinal gestapo because they are not going to be too pleased. I sit here writing as an exile from the protestant, evangelical expression of Western Christianity. For decades, I fed from their troughs of the weak gruel of mere belief in the right things. I was part of several strong 'teaching' bodies. They got part of it right but stopped woefully short of daring to preach the essence of the whole gospel truth. 

Belief was paramount...belief in the right things as determined by whichever of the 3000+ denominations I may have been a part of at the time. Belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Nothing wrong with that...it is absolutely true and I bow before him. But what else?  Perhaps a small group, a bit of service, some expeditions to 2 week missions, maybe a stint at Feed My Starving Children. Nothing is wrong with any of it. However, it is just not sufficient to significantly change peoples lives, to bring about interior transformation. To make them more Christ like. Barna has done the measurements... Christians are unidentifiable from the unbelieving population except for having a slightly higher divorce rate!  The Western church of today has just not delivered the disciples of Christ that Jesus indicated he was looking for before he returned to his heavenly home. 

But mere belief has never been a winning strategy. Why even the demons believe. What has it done for them?  What do they do with their belief?  They "shudder". Why? Because they believe Jesus is who he said he was and did what he said he was going to do. And yet, they have absolutely no intention of changing their lives in light of those beliefs. So, they shudder at the coming conclusion of their life's work. They expect it will be less than pleasant.

Jesus never merely said come believe in me. He said come, follow me. He had 12 inner-circle disciples who he did life with 24-7 for three years. He taught them by both teaching and by the example of how he lived his life. And oh my, he taught and preached some very radical things! Things that are just not something one would hear preached in the majority of today's post-modern churches. Take up your cross, love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on Jesus' account, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart, in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, judge not that you may not be judged. 

But Jesus was a realist. He knew that man could never successfully undertake such directives through mere assent and willpower . He made it clear that we are the branches and he is the vine. He said to abide in him for "apart from me (him) you can do nothing". In Genesis we read that we were created in his image. But being transformed into that image cannot be accomplished by the mere willpower of man, by mere belief. It must be done by surrender to Jesus as our vine and trust in his Spirit within us to transform us each from the inside out.

It is common today to find hungry churches who offer an attractive serving of programs in the effort to build a congregation that is strong in number. The mega churches of today, with their multiple campuses throughout a metro area,  have huge budgets and depend on massive numbers of giving congregants in order to keep the growth fires burning. 

Marketing 101 dictates that a teaching program that includes frequent references to the inconvenient truth of 'come and die' is never going to play well to the masses. Thus, a tamed-down emphasis on just believing, participating and serving is considered sufficient content for the Sunday-centric gatherings. If, as the clock ticks down to the start of the exactly 60 minute service, the first words of the pastor were "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" the seeker-sensitive crowd would most likely not be inspired to return the next week.

Ok, ok, this might all be fine and good but what does it have to do with the title of this blog,  'ordinary mystic'? Well, let me take a breath or two and I will come back to just that.....

State of Union

 I sit here today with the desire to explore some of what I am currently thinking and where I currently perceive myself to be at this point of my spiritual journey. When I look into this arena it all seems a bit muddled and, if I am honest, I feel a bit disoriented and unsure of myself. Coming to this blog to get down some of what I am experiencing and wondering about is daunting. Why? Because my normal practice is not sitting down to write until I am quite pregnant with something that is just tugging to get out. That infers some degree of clarity.  I can then sit down and write somewhat effortlessly and what is inside of me easily pours out of my fingers through the keyboard and onto good ol' 500' Flyby.

Right now I give myself permission to thrash and use words inefficiently, to be ok with making statements that aren't quite right but maybe just kinda close. One physical impediment: just had surgery on right foot and really should have it elevated which is not possible while at my computer.....Pause....Duh!, I have a laptop sitting in docking station. Off I go with that little piece of tech to a more comfortable reclining position. There! That's better!

So some random pebbles that seem relevant to my path follow but in no particular order: 

I appreciate the mystics because, to me, they embrace not just the salvation Jesus won for us but also the transformation that is meant to be in operation now and not just after we die. I am created in God's image and his desire is to transform me into that version of me he had in mind from before the foundation of the world (Eph 1). He is doing this from the inside, through his power, as much as my surrender, my self-emptying and my obedience to his light will allow.

I do not find that many of my Christian brethren thinking quite like this. However, men like Merton and Finley, among others, have brought me language and encouragement in this direction toward greater union with Christ. "...apart from me you can do nothing,"" I am the vine, you are the branches"..... These words from Jn 15:5 are what got me started on this path about six years ago as I entered the amazing transition into retirement, the cessation of the work-a-day-world and the gift of huge chunks of time each day that were now freed up. But for what? In a somewhat glib/hubristic manner I landed on "pursuing union with Christ" based on the massive whack I received from the "apart from me you can do nothing" phrase in John. 

Now, after much intentional reading of contemplative writers who have managed to leave concrete breadcrumbs in matters mostly very difficult to articulate, I am humbled by all that I seemed to have found. Much of the 'death to self' days of Campus Church in the 70's and 80's largely eluded me...timing was just not right. And yet here I am, 40+ years later picking up some of the very same concepts but this time having a home for them in which to lodge. Timing is everything....

As for fellowship...well, that is a sticky wicket. Currently church-less. That sounds like it should trigger the sirens of a thousand Christian watch towers. And I wouldn't blame them for sounding an alarm. But here's the thing. I just don't trust the evangelical houses of religion, headed by men with clay feet who, in their struggle to remain relevant, have managed to produce outcomes in their membership that the Pew studies are unable to distinguish from the unbelieving public. I realize this sounds aloof but I don't trust myself into the company of parishioners who too often appear to be mostly just going through the motions, taking the form of religion but denying (or evading) the power of it. Now hear me here: It's not that I am better than them! Hell no!! But if I take my place among them I know that I, like water, will ultimately seek the level of that in which I am poured.

So where are my people? I could give a sermon on the need for being in community. Jesus didn't gather 12 disciples together for nothing. For three years he schooled this ragtag band of brothers and then sent them out to bring the good news of his message to the entire world. If the Kingdom of God could be lived out as a lone ranger he could have certainly saved himself the messiness of three years of molding this diverse, motley group who eventually became the first believers in Christ as Messiah. I get it! But where are my people? Is there a church somewhere named Serious House of Transformation?

I am blessed to have a small band of relatively like-minded brethren who are on somewhat similar trajectories. And yet they are not a homogenized body, meeting weekly in some location and available to pursue some level of actually doing life together. They represent what can only be called a very nontraditional, scattered body of Christ.

I recently watched a Carey Nieuwhof podcast with guest John Mark Comer that brought me what appears to be some light.That "so where are my people" line of mine above and the topic of fellowship I wrestle with... Comer and Nieuwhof were discussing some spiritual stage stuff and how the traditional Sunday service can cease to provide what it used to in the earlier days of a believer's journey. I breathed a bit of a sigh of some relief because a. I had never heard any teachers mention this before, b. it confirmed much of what I have been experiencing and c. it redirected my lament/guilt at not having or belonging to a traditional church. Perhaps 'my people' are not clustered in some denominational expression of Christianity. Perhaps my group of intimate friends who know me, all of me, are perfectly sufficient as a serviceable tool in the ongoing spiritual formation of my life in this 4th quarter of the game. Maybe my guilt/uneasiness is just mere anxiety at not looking quite like a basic Christian is supposed to look. Perhaps I just need to not care so much about making others nervous about what my practice looks like at the moment.

I see that what I am trying to talk about here is not of a conciseness that is handled well in the space typical of a blog. Might just have to come back another time to add parts and pieces that aren't percolating up at the moment. But before I stop there is a mental picture that has helped me conceptualize one aspect of my journey.  I seek to discover and eradicate the false self of Santiago and trust Jesus to bring me more deeply into the true self he ultimately created me to be. To be willing to die to self, to those independent, autonomous aspects of myself that stand in the way of the Holy Spirit having his transformative way with me.

And what all makes up this false self? The picture I have is of little Jimmy being born with a blank white canvas tied to my ankle. As I go through life I drag that canvas along with me. And as I go, life leaves its marks and impressions upon the canvas. I also leave my marks of various reactions and interpretations of what life doles out. Over the years the canvas fills up with more and more and when I look at the canvas it seems to mirror back to me the message that "This is you Santiago. This is what you look like, how you operate and what you believe." But it is all a lie! A giant deception! It does not depict the truest version of me. I can and must reject identifying this canvas as an accurate picture of who I am and turn back to my life's Author, seeking to be in agreement with and transformed into the image he created me to be.

Like the old pressure cooker my Mom used that had a heavy metal piece loosely sitting on top of a steam relief port, this post helped release a bit of the p.s.i. which has been building. I hope to come back soon to continue the Santiago thrash....

Santiago: On the Camino de Santiago- Frances

 

So twelve months have slipped by without anything appearing on 500' Flyby. But that's not to say nothing has happened....oh neh, neh. I have reviewed some of my past blogs and I see there were several posts concerning the Camino where I conceptually discussed aspects of health, circumstances, and miscellaneous practicalities. But then finally, this summer on August 22, I boarded planes for Amsterdam and Madrid respectively. I was in Spain from August 23 to October 7. My walk from St. Jean to Santiago took 32 days with another 10 spent traveling and hanging out in Santiago and Finnestere. 

In reading my Camino posts of 2022 and 2020, it is clear to me that I was very intentional about having a clear 'Why?' to launch me on this journey. It was also very clear that 'Why?' ultimately became a personal calling. My time at Pacem last fall left me without a doubt that Jesus planted the initial seed to go, he nurtured it, he protected it when both Covid and left foot surgery unseated my initial plans and he breathed fresh life into it in 2022.  It became an invitation from the Trinity, a calling, to walk across Spain with Jesus as my traveling partner!

So now I have been back for almost three months. As I look back at all that transpired, what do I see?  Can I see why Jesus might have ever bothered to tap me on the shoulder in the first place? Although I wish I was beyond this, I must confess that wondering 'why me' has crossed my mind. 

My purpose today is to describe my perspective at this point. I wish to provide myself a point of reference for the coming months/years which may in fact bring additional or revised insights. In any regard, I trust you Jesus as the giver of insights. I have absolutely no desire to hypothesize here, only to articulate what I seem to 'see' at this particular point in time.

By the time I left for Spain I was clear that the Camino for me was a call, an invitation from my Papa. (I am still a bit uncomfortable referring to him in that way but the love he showed me on my trip inspires me to do so.) Going all the way to Spain, spending 45 days away from home and walking long distances every day was a sharp departure from all that is normal in my life. This all played out in a strange culture, a strange geography, with a strange language and without the loving support of my wife, friends and family. This certainly provided an interesting stage for Jesus to demonstrate his love for me, his interest in the little details of my life, and his compassionate protection of me over 45 days. 

So Why me? Because he wanted to show me how much he loves me. Anything else? No, not really. Just that he sees me, he cares for me, he understands me and wants me to see more clearly how much I can trust him. Wow! It seems like a lot of trouble to go through just to let me know what Sunday school and sermons had already been teaching me for years. Did he love me more on the Camino than he normally does? No, I don't believe so but he wanted me to be dramatically re-positioned, away from everything of normal support. Away from all familiarity, away from everything and everybody that normally are available on a daily basis to prop up my life. To clear the mechanism so I might be able to see and experience what he provides to me everyday although I am mostly blind to it.

Every step I took was in a place I had never been before. I did not have fierce mastery over what I needed in order to get through each day. I was dependent on others, I was fully present to receive direction, to understand what others were trying to say to me, to navigate the necessary details of each day. I was profoundly present, alert, straining to hear his still small voice on how to proceed as none of my normal faculties were a source of sufficient guidance.

And what did I experience? So, so much! His daily care and direction were clearly present. A scratchy throat, a tweaked achilles, a need for a yellow arrow, clarity as to how to proceed, whether to stop in a village or not...all of these things were answered/dealt with ever so promptly.  It was as if he was saying, "I invited you on this journey and I will not allow anything to come in and derail it".  This loving care, this sense of a father's loving arm around me as a beloved son was on display virtually every day. It was not even particularly subtle. It was blatantly evident without requiring any deep meditative consideration.

Like when I did notice a physical malady or symptom, I would bring it to the Lord's attention.  Within minutes it was dealt with and resolved....yes, minutes. After my one major fall, my symptoms of mental confusion and numbness coupled with back spasm presented more than just a minor problem. After a 5-minute sit and a hesitant request for yet another touch of Papa, I simply got up, adjusted my pack and walked 18km as though nothing had ever happened. 

And then one day on the meseta, at 5:30 AM and about 1km from my alburque, the silence was interrupted by a "You don't have your money!" statement given to me with a strong, blunt emphasis. I even protested that the one thinking this was wrong, I was sure my money was in my pack! Oh what hubris Santiago!  I reluctantly removed my pack in the middle of a highway in the pitch dark only to find that I indeed did not have my money belt with me (it contained not only my money but also my PASSPORT!). I did not know what else to do but to return to my alburque, re-enter the room with my loudly snoring bunk mates and sit on my bunk with no idea where the money belt could be. My hand rested under my pillow and it was then I remembered a new strategy I had adopted just the night before... money belt in the pillow case rather than under the mattress. Yep, it was in the pillow case!

Without that divine interruption I would have certainly walked all day to the next village before discovering what I no longer had. What a massive problem had been avoided by such a clear, forceful interruption by a Father who fully had my back! I walked that day in utter awe at the bullet that had been dodged by such a direct, supernatural yanking of my attention toward what had been invisible to my natural consciousness.

So did Jesus love me more on the Camino than he normally does? I really do not believe this to be the case. I see that his invitation to me was to take me on a journey in an environment which would strip away all the normal things that prop up my life. I would be in a more receptive posture, my attention would be more focused on listening for his voice and I would more clearly see his hand of guidance and intervention without the clutter of normalcy to get in the way.

I expect the coming months and even years will bring me additional insights and revelations stemming from my time with Jesus on the Spanish Camino. I sincerely desire to avoid the Israelite's chronic mistakes of forgetting what God had so clearly provided to them: manna to eat, parted waters in which to walk, water from rock, deliverance from enemies and land to call their own. My call was, at the very least, to an extraordinary 45 day season of Father's arm around me on an intimate walk along an age-old pilgrimage in Spain. For this outrageous demonstration of his loving care and compassion,  I am eternally grateful!

 

Snapshot of a rough patch

 As a new year is just hours away, I sit here feeling led to write about what is not all that fun to write about. My last post, written only weeks ago, told the story of an adventure, a call, something I have been about and pursuing for a couple of years...walking the Camino. Today I am feeling an angry, frustrated humility as my left foot feels re-injured and my body is experiencing a new level of age-related issues.  The reality of my Camino seems to be slipping from my fingers.

All this is happening against a backdrop of assisting Aunt V's move from an assisted-living life into a long term care style of "living" following her stroke. This brings me squarely into the memories of my mom's last years. The reality of seeing the drain-swirling aspects of many people's end-of-life scenarios hits me in a mental tsunami kind of way.

You see, I understand that such a confession is not faith-filled, not positive-thinking approved. But if I am to be authentic, I feel it necessary to discuss this now, in the valley of the shadow, rather than waiting for it all to pass and only then gloriously writing about the 'victory of weathering a life storm'.

The foot will be examined by a Dr in just a few days. It will be what it is and I will do what I can. The other vague ageing issues I am currently feeling are at least in part from ending all exercise (walking, swimming) until I get the doc's diagnosis. Stiff, sore neck issues have been with me for weeks. They seem to be caused be sleeping position/pillow issues but then I really don't know. Subtle balance irregularities, sleep disturbances, more frequent inability to find the right word or remember the right name, forgetting where I put or left things and the very face of the guy on the other side of the mirror all whisper about how much sand has drifted into the bottom of my hourglass.

All this is GREATLY exacerbated by helping Aunt V.  I have a front row seat. Watching the steep downward slide of this once vital, seemingly bullet proof little lady is so not f-u-n.  She wisely and proactively moved from her townhouse to an assisted-living life. Although at the time it didn't seem necessary to me, it proved a right move for her. Unlike my mom, V enjoyed a couple of years of independent living and thrived within a supportive community. But alas, assisted-living is only authorized for the relatively able-bodied.  Her stroke, followed by hospital, followed by transitional care rehabilitation all resulted in a body and a mind no longer suitable for her own, independent apartment. Observing all of this at such an intimate distance while being 75 myself just feels.... toxic. Sorry!

My experience with long term care is mostly ugly.  Although caregivers work mightily to put a happy face on this, the last stop before meeting Jesus, for many it is a sad season of life. (At least as observed from my vantage point. I can only hope the residents do not share my horror!) Each day I enter a world of super slow-mo citizens with amazing life stories now housed in a mere shell of what once was. It is a land of wheelchairs, hoyer lifts, lousy food and adult diapers. And, if that is not enough to suck the vibrancy of life right out of you, the monthly expense for this assault on humanity is astronomical. It is virtually guaranteed to quickly drain almost every last penny of an average person's life savings leaving one with a maximum of $3,000 and enrollment in the welfare system. The dignity of life gets so deeply buried under all of these indecencies that walking into the facility drains my energy within mere minutes! (Lord, please give me eyes to see all of this in a better way!)

So here's the deal Santiago: your foot seems to be betraying you and your plans, your body appears to be relentlessly marching toward a new level of diminishment and your season of life has you assisting a dear lady as she "jumps" the last hurdles of the race. "Your honor, my client is not enduring these things well, and wishes to enter a counter suit. He's just not sure how to proceed..."

As I look up to the horizon in the hopes of brighter skies and less turbulence, a new challenge looms just ahead: Nat's surgery is set for 2/6. The drum beat only seems to grow louder as my fingernails dig into the granite-faced cliff. Jerry, you hated this picture, but I can only say it surely feels appropriate in the corner I find myself temporarily (permanently?) painted into. 

Dear Lord Jesus, please take the wheel!

A Camino call

Ever since Covid collapsed my Camino trip of 2020, I have pondered taking another stab at it. What would be the biggest adventure of my life wasn't something I was willing to easily let go of. Thus, since I was experiencing left foot issues (which would most likely have interrupted my 2020 plans even without the arrival of Covid), I sought out medical intervention. Several things were diagnosed including a tear in my plantar plate at the base of my second toe, a bunion and a second toe that was longer than my big toe which would exacerbate the possibilities of future plantar tears. 

So I opted for the recommended surgery to correct all of these things in one surgery with four different entrance points on my left foot. That was at the end of March, 2022. Today, nine months later, I am substantially healed and am walking forty-five to fifty miles per week. My foot is still not one hundred percent. It definitely gets sore after each walk but it is manageable and still getting better. My doctor has assured me that it is unlikely that I will undo any of her work on my foot. And so I press on, listening to my body and trying not to be obsessively foolish regarding weekly mileage.

I have struggled a bit in arriving at these decision points. I have been intentional in looking for what my 'Why' is for undertaking this journey. What is my motivation? Is this just another accomplishment notch for my life belt? A now old man's last lunge at validating himself? None of these would play well with me and would only result in an ugly mental video as I stared at the ceiling of a future old folks home.

This last September found me spending three nights of silent retreat at Pacem in Teris. It was a glorious time of feeling very close to the Trinity. Among other things, I reviewed what initially led me to go to Spain two plus years ago. I had experienced a 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' type of tug while watching  the movie 'The Way'.  But after having to abort the mission in 2020 and, as the months passed by, this sense dissipated. My life became like everyone else's....months of quarantines, masks and hand sanitizer everywhere.  And then Sandi had a heart attack and there were months of working through diagnoses, prognoses and the fear of losing my mate. Meanwhile, the sands of my life's hourglass just kept filling the bottom half which only clouded my considerations for something as substantial as the Camino.

Pacem was such an amazing time of beauty and intimacy with God. Discussing the Camino in His presence was a highlight. I came away hearing that the Camino was never just my idea. In fact, Abba was the author of this idea for me.  I left Pacem believing that I didn't just have the Lord's green light to go on my Camino... I now received it as a definite call upon my life. It was no longer merely something I wanted to do for which I was seeking Kingdom permission. Instead, it was now more a matter of obedience. It was giving my 'Yes' to something Jesus was inviting me up and into. That, of course, is a horse of an entirely different color!

Upon returning, I met with my Camino mentor, Jim McCaffrey, to refresh our relationship and discuss  preliminary details. Over the next weeks I wondered about waiting to book the trip in order to further monitor the likelihood of actually being able to go this time. Pandemics are not at all off the table of consideration as Covid, RSV and flu continue to spread. And global war, even of the nuclear variety, is not outside the reasonable realm of possibility. Sandi's health and my health are two more factors that could change the outlook on a moment's notice. All of this caused me to delay a bit in pulling the trigger.

Heh, just because I am believing that there is a Camino call in my life in no way guarantees that it will happen. Yet I seek to serve at the will of my Father. Ultimately, if I am to take this sense of Camino call  seriously, there is no reason for a 'wait and see" delay. So I have made the $1400 dollar bet and booked the round trip. My 2023 Camino attempt is scheduled for an August 22 departure and returning October 7.  I have booked the airfare, bought the trip insurance and a line has been drawn in the sand....

Feliz Navidad Santiago!