"Our life is a pilgrimage with and into the heart of God." Martin Wallace

Pilgrimage….it is not a word we use often.It is an "old" word. It conjures up heavy, medieval clothing, horses perhaps, certainly self -sacrifice, if not danger. We know pilgrimage is more than a vacation…..different than a trip. Have you ever taken a pilgrimage? Traveled to a place, knowing, hoping, expecting to experience the Holy there? Longing to be changed or transformed in some way?

Martin Wallace, the creator of these Celtic words seems to invite us to think of the experience of our every day walk, our ordinary days as pilgrimage. He goes on "Life is a purposeful pilgrimage, not an aimless meandering trail." The question is "Whose purpose?" Mine? God’s? I certainly seem to be meandering much of the time but maybe that is just my perception……maybe others see it differently….maybe so would the Holy One.

I guess I thought of this because we sang one of my favorite songs at church on Sunday which refers to ‘pilgrims’. I have been singing it in my head ever since. "Will you let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you, Pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant, too. We are pilgrims on a journey, we are travelers on the road; We are here to help each other, Walk the mile and bear the load."

That is the kind of pilgrim I can imagine being…..the kind of pilgrim I pray I am. One who wakes every day with the humble hope of being more purposeful, less meandering. One who recognizes those who also walk the path,those who show up as the face of God someplace between the water cooler and the copy machine. One who puts on walking shoes and heads out….on the journey….with and into the heart of God, step by step, day by day, year by year…..rarely traveling very far from where we lay our heads.

"I will hold the Christ-light for you, in the nighttime of your fear; I will hold my hand out to you, Speak the peace you long to hear. I will weep when you are weeping, when you laugh I’ll laugh with you. I will share your joy and sorrow, ‘Til we’ve seen this journey through."   The Servant Song, Richard Gillard