A New Thing

In May of 2016 I received my compestella (certificate) for having walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain. This pilgrimage was the longest journey I had made on foot. It involved overcoming not only physical barriers (rain, mud, rocks, heat) but also the mental and spiritual barricades and pitfalls that we often encounter in life.

One of my most powerful experiences on the Camino involved water. My friend and I had been walking much of the day in a rising heat, over parched ground and uneven path, when we at last crossed a small footbridge spanning a large stream. Nearby, a fountain of purified water invited us to fill our empty water bottles and to sit for a time in the shade as we replenished our bodies and spirits.

I thought of God’s promise that day as I drank deeply of this water. “I will make a way in the wilderness,” Isaiah writes, “and rivers in the desert.”

Not only the physical limitations of life need to be replenished by God’s abundance. We have spiritual deficiencies within us. We experience moments that seem depleted of love, faith, or joy. Sometimes, our energies are depleted. Other experiences reduce our levels of trust, hope, or finances. In short, we need the refreshing abundance of God.

When we walk through the dry places, we can remember that God’s refreshment is not far off. God will make a way.

Many experiences zap our energies, wreak havoc on our emotions, stress our relationships, and fill us with fear. The wilderness is not necessarily a place but any experience in life that causes us to lose sight of God—the source of our strength and hope. But the prophet reminds us—God will make a way for us to push through. This is grace. And it is enough.