You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way (Psalm 18:36).

The actual walking surface of the Camino de Santiago varies. Crushed gravel makes up parts of the path. In other places you encounter asphalt, or a dirt track, or a concrete sidewalk. At times the way turns rocky, with thick roots spanning the trail. You must keep alert for changes underfoot.

Signs helpfully mark the trail, too many to get really lost. Plus, lots of helpful people will point you in the right direction. But failing to pay attention can cost you several extra miles.

Blisters emerge as the most painful problem when you walk 10-15 miles, day after day. A bit of dirt in your shoe leads to days of painful tramping. Wise pilgrims avoid blisters, and have a plan in mind to treat those that arise. You really can’t be too careful with your toes.

A great deal of thought goes into preparing for a good experience in the Camino de Santiago. It pays to carefully watch your plans and practices.

In the same way, the Scriptures remind us to give thought to our lives. If a week of hiking in Spain requires a great deal of attention, how much more time and energy should I give to my hike through life? How thankful shall I be for the broad paths that often line my way?

It’s wise to prepare well for a long, tough journey. It’s even wiser to seek the Lord as we walk the long, tough path through life.

Camino de Santiago 2024

Photo: Signpost along the Camino

You groped your way through that muck once, but no longer. You’re out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it (Ephesians 5:8-9 in The Message).

My wife and I arrived in Portugal, then spent a couple of days bumbling through jet lag and living as tourists. However, we left our room a few days ago on the Camino de Santiago as pilgrims—those in search.

Once you declare yourself a pilgrim you change your identity. You launch out toward more, an undiscovered land or a fresh identity. Some pilgrims travel the world ever searching, and we may meet a few on this journey. Most stay close to home yet search all the same, never fully comfortable, hearts restless for who knows what.

But as Jesus pilgrims, we step out into the open. We walk confidently into the light. Our adventure this week is not to discover faith, but to experience Christ in fresh ways. Over the years I’ve learned that tired feet lead to deeper souls. Or as a friend put it, as we walk we hear the feedback of our own footsteps.

Where will you walk this week? Take Paul’s advice and put your pilgrim’s feet into motion. As Paul says, figure out what will please Christ, and then do it. It’s the figuring out part that takes introspection, and the doing it that puts us on our feet.

Camino de Santiago 2024

People who walk the Camino de Santiago learn to recognize several symbols along the way. These include items familiar to anyone who follows Jesus, as well as a couple unique to this pilgrimage. While we may not all undertake the Camino, these symbols represent questions for all of us to consider while on our spiritual journeys.

An Open Backpack

A pilgrim shares with others and receives back. A rucksack symbolizes our openness to giving and receiving. Often accepting help is harder than helping someone else, but we all need good people to walk alongside us during our times of struggle. Look for opportunities to both freely share, and humbly receive, as you journey.

A Scallop Shell

This type of shell has long identified pilgrims. It was worn on the chest or hat, and also served as a spoon or a cup. How do we identify ourselves as followers of The Way, The Truth, and The Life today?

The Pilgrim’s Passport

A completed passport, issued only by the Catholic church, is necessary to receive your Compostela (completion certificate) in Santiago. You need at least 2 stamps per day to prove you walked at least 100 kilometers. Every kiosk or restaurant or hotel along the Camino stamps passports. It’s important to mark our road through life, and remember those who helped us along the way.

A Stone

Many pilgrims carry a small rock as a symbol of their sorrow, burden, pain or loss. After wrestling with these issues before the Lord, we lay the stone down somewhere along the path. What are you carrying that God might be inviting you to drop from your hand?

In Summary

Each one of these symbols developed into a marker pointing pilgrims to the Lord. These remind me of another symbol referred to by Jesus: Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30).

Walking 70 miles in a week is challenging, but often spiritual, emotional and mental burdens create more daunting problems. Thankfully the yoke of Jesus, his symbol of care, applies to us all. Settle his harness upon your back, humbly walk before him, and find rest for you soul.

Camino de Santiago 2024

Photo: A shell tattooed on a pilgrim’s arm to remember the Camino experience

As we arrive in Santiago de Compostela, we pray this prayer for our group and for all the fellow pilgrims we will meet along the way. This ancient invocation was written especially for pilgrims:

God, you called your servant Abraham from Ur in Chaldea, watching over him in all his wanderings, and guided the Hebrew people as they crossed the desert. Guard these your children who, for the love of your Name, make a pilgrimage to Compostela.

Be their companion on the way, their guide at the crossroads, their strength in weariness, their defense in dangers, their shelter on the path, their shade in the heat, their light in darkness, their comfort in discouragement, and the firmness of their intentions, that through your guidance they may arrive safely at the end of their journey and, enriched with grace and virtue, may return to their homes filled with salutary and lasting joy.

You and I walk a challenging journey through life. These humble thoughts are too good to keep only for a specific pilgrimage, but make for good praying for all who follow the way of Jesus.

Many blessings as you walk your path today.

Camino de Santiago 2024

Photo: Section of trail along the Camino de Santiago