Finding Hope on the Caminoናሙና

Bandaids

Blisters, cuts, and sprains; no one escapes pain on the Camino.

Sooner or later, the body suffers in such a way that one may need to slow their pace or even stop. But the Camino wouldn't be the same without pain, would it?

Through this suffering, we realize the cost of traveling this road. And at the end of each segment, we have changed a bit more into someone different from who we were when we first started.

On the Camino of life, things happen to us that we must learn to walk through. Major life changes affect us all; job loss, financial trouble, relationship failures, health issues, death of a loved one ... the list goes on.

Like a blister on your heart or mind, how do you learn to walk through life with your hurts? Do you still need to heal from the wounds you carry? Where do you turn for healing?

King David wrote, "God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

To be clear, suffering is not a way to gain God's favor or to pay penance for sins. There is only one way to gain God's forgiveness for sin, and that is through Jesus Christ. There is no other way. He paid the price on the cross; we can bring nothing to the table to earn God's favor according to Ephesians 2:8-9

If you are traveling the Camino merely to suffer, thinking that pain will earn your salvation, I have good news – you don't have to do that! Jesus already earned God's forgiveness for you. As you walk the trail today, ask Him to help you fully understand this free gift. If you ask, He will reveal this truth to you.