Stories from Rome: May 20
This is not a short blog, but we hope meaningful one. A book on Pilgrimage we read before we left home identified seven stages of pilgrimage: desire (what do I long for?), motivation (what do I want to get out of this?), timing (why is now an important time for this?), being led (how is God guiding me?), letting go (can I drop my expectations and be open?), prayer (how do I incorporate a rhythm of talking with God during my journey?) and sharing (what stories will I tell to others that are meaningful?). The stages are not sequential, although the order makes sense. I find that the stages are cyclical. The more I let go the more I see what I am really longing for. The more I share the more I see how God is leading me. The more I pray, the more I am able to let go. This last stage of sharing comes right now in the form of blogging, but I know there will more stories to share when we come home. The lesson for me, and the author's point, is that pilgrimage is seen as an event, but i...