These last 2 weeks on the Camino have been tough. And not just physically. I’ll admit there was a time when I didn’t want to keep going. I ws in the middle of a stage and I just wanted to go hide in the forest and lie down.
I didn’t want to finish because it was hard. But, that would have left me in middle-of-nowhere Spain.
The Camino was meant to be a time of reflection. I’m not very good at reflection and introspection, so this didn’t appeal to me. But a revelation came to me on stage 8.
On that stage, I would often stop and look back at the hills behind me. The sun was just rising and there was a layer of fog sitting in the valleys. It was beautiful. As I looked back down at the path I had come up, a realisation came to me: I can do hard things. Physically hard things. Like climb a steep, 8km long hill with 10kg on my back.
But there was another aspect to it. I could do hard things, but not just physical. I saw that steep path as the path I had taken this year. It was hard. There were emotional, mental, and spiritual challenges that I had overcome. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be who I am today.
If I had gone to lie down in the forest and stopped walking, I wouldn’t have finished the stage. If I had decided not to climb that hill, I wouldn’t have made it to the top. And I wouldn’t be where I am today, on my way to Morocco.
If I hadn’t decided to tackle my insecurities head on, I would be back where I was at the start of the Race. Scared of rejection and constantly searching for approval. If I hadn’t tested my faith and spent hours in the Word, searching and testing what I believed- questioning the very things I had grown up believing- I wouldn’t have the firm faith I do now. I would still be relying on others around me to tell me what was right or wrong.
I’ve never been one to do something that I would fail, or that would be difficult. Or I would fail something that I should have passed, just because I didn’t want to put the work in. But this year has been different. I have put in the effort to overcome the hills that have been put in front of me. And I climbed them. And I’m proud of that.
I have just $306 to go before I am fully funded! Head to the bar at the top of the page to help me get there by November 1st!
