Pray List
“I find I’m so excited that I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head.
I think it’s the excitement only a free man can feel.
A free man at a start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain.
I hope I can make it across the border.
I hope to see my friend and shake his hand.
I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams.
I hope.”
Red – Shawshank Redemption
I could relate to that quote from one of my favorite films the first time that I heard it. I hope for many things. And starting a journey always opens a new window full of hope. As relates to this particular journey I hope for safety and well-being for myself and the rest of the many pilgrims. I hope for a good experience at home for my friends and loved ones. I hope for good weather and shelter when it’s not. I hope for patience and stamina. I hope for a good, healthy balance between community and solitude. I hope for new friends. I hope for closeness to God. I hope for an outcome that will find me to be a better person on day 35 than I was on day 1. I hope.
Some of these things I may have some control over. Most I do not. None. Zero. I do, however, have control over whether or not I turn my hopes over to God for Him to handle. Whether it’s a formally expressed prayer or willingly giving up the tendency to allow hopes to turn into worry – there are many ways to surrender control. In truth, in most cases, it’s control I’ve never actually had anyway.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.”
Saint Francis of Assisi
Okay, enough with the lists. 🙂 This format has been a way for me to organize thoughts about my prep work into categories for my own benefit and for anyone who may want to reference them for their own future trips. Folks who reference the zodiac say lists are ‘a Virgo thing’. But, I think it’s actually a bi-product of growing up in a household where I was provided a chore list prior to being allowed outside to play. Ten more days and I get to go out to play!!
And then….I’ll write more later from elsewhere….
May the keeping of Christ be round you, may the guarding of God be with you, to possess you, to protect you from danger and from loss. May the gospel of the God of grace bless you from head to sole. May the gospel of the king of heaven be wrapped around your body.