9 Mile Road
So far today we have journey nine miles. The signs on the Camino are interesting. The ones on the trail where the “Peregrinos,” (Pilgrims) walk are small yellow spray painted arrows. When the path gets into high density areas, where loads of people live, the signs are nice and cool looking.
Today we went about a mile off the trail and saw a cool sign. Makes me think about advertising. Much of this Camino stuff is commercial. There is a saying that I have heard many times, “This is your Camino. Make it your Camino.” That is exactly what we are doing.
Met with a lady who has done the Camino before and had come back to Spain to do a portion of it and to reconnect with God. She told me about a great place to skip ahead to. We decided to do just that. We will still walk many miles just not on that concrete path.
The official position of the Church is that all Pilgrims must walk the last 100KM and get two stamps each day of that distance. It sorta exposes the atmosphere of an individual’s heart. What is in your heart? I keep thinking- Go The Extra Mile.
So, i ask myself, am I on the Camino to say, “I walked the Camino de Santiago.” I don’t think so. There is an aspect of accomplishment that I desire to share. I am convinced that it is important to share, to encourage, to take y’all with me. To go with you.
The internet, the blog, the pictures, the videos, phone calls and text messages allow us to journey in a unique way. Today I spoke with people from Poland, Germany and Spain. All because I have this phone with an app or two.
I guess what l’m getting at is -our options. You only have one life. Right now you are ___ years old. Will you study and become? Will you stay where you are? Will you chose to be content or to complain? Will you GO because of the Great Commission. Will you hunker down and think about the worst. Will you give it all away? Will you horde all you can get? Will you…
This is your life. The whole “not my problem” thing does have some merit. Especially for those of us who tend to catastrophize. (I am working on myself in this area). The opposite is catastophizing is sort of leaning towards apathy and indifference. Either way we are stuck with the opportunity of responsibility.
The Camino is leading me to see just how many opportunities I have. I’m committing myself to taking some of these opportunities and doing some cool things. I’m committing myself to allowing everyone else to own their own lives and although I hear stories I am renewing good boundaries.
I’m stepping into the “not my problem” understanding as if I were a child. Even Jesus lived this out. Think about the scenario with me. Right before the cross Pilot who sees no reason to do anything to Jesus turns to Him and ask a vital question (y’all can look up the question). And if Jesus had replied -but He just stands there. Pilot asks, -Jesus lives out -not my problem. Fully God and fully man… not my problem. Pilot chooses the cross. Still Pilots choice was Pilots choice. It wasn’t a problem that Jesus felt compelled to fix.
I have taken on a lot of the stories I have heard and seen. (One example watched my mom die of cancer - for awhile every ache and pain I had made me think I had cancer. Cancer was my mom’s journey, her story -Not Mine). I think Way too much about suffering and pain. I have tried to fix more than myself and that just does not work. As a man and a pastor I know that God has given me one mission. To lead people, using the tool of Vet Church, to places of love and kindness.
As the name implies our focus in Vet Church is the Veteran Community. Will we work with others who are not Veterans? Absolutely, we will. After all, less than 1% of Americans serve in the military, this percentage thing varies by country. My thought is Veterans should lead the way. We are some of the most courageous people alive, (moms who raise kids with intentionality being the MOST courageous).
So we lead the way by showing love. We lead the way by understanding and building community. We lead the way to that eternal Kingdom, to a home built and being built beyond the wildest of all imagination, a place prepared for those who love God, the land of the unbroken circle, the land of dancing and joy.
This is your life. I cannot live it for you. This is my life. You cannot live it for me.
Problems? We’ve all got them. Each of us must always own our own problems. No person can fix another persons problems or tell you what to do- not appropriately anyway. What we can do appropriately is to journey with each other.
We can journey together. We can cheer each other on. We can talk about the work of ownership and responsibility. We can explore accountability and be accountable. We can. I will. Will you join me?
Another quick thought: One of the worst words to for a person to see on a personal evaluation is “potential.”
It is awesome to know that you have it. To find out during an evaluation that the person responsible for evaluating you sees your potential is not cool. The ideal is that the evaluator sees so much being done that the evaluator does not have time to go into what you “could be or should be” doing. How are you standing in the world of self evaluation?
If you don’t like what you see -change. If you think you have potential start acting upon it. If is a big word… if I could maybe, maybe I would.
I’m looking for signs, yellow arrows and more. I’m focusing on the good stuff, not catastrophizing at every door. I’m gonna play some music. I’m dancing right now in my mind. I know you got a problem and I know it’s not mine. Still gonna be there for you. Still gonna pick up the phone. Still gonna witness your greatness. Never ever Alone.
I’m renewing some boundaries…
Buen Caminó
Most favorite yet.