What an amazing journey that has lead into this beautiful new month. God uses all thing for our good even when we are not at our best. This last week has been a tough one for me. It has been filled with spiritual battle, temptation, and the constant battle against forces that work against the kingdom of God. I never thought that one day I would be traveling to spain to walk the camino de santiago but here I am walking it. God has used this season of our life, I say our season because Oscar, Westly, Connor and myself are on a team together this month. We have been blessed with many devine appointments and people that are open to talk about faith and hear the work that God has done in our lives. It truly is interesting that as americans we are the minority. One thing that I couldn’t quite understand is why we had seen so much fruit (spiritually) in such a short time. God has blessed us with many people from all over the world that also speak english. Its awesome how communication has been so easily established here on the camino. It is more interesting that most of the people that we have created and cultivated relationships with have not really thought about God, some don’t even believe in God.
Let me paint you a picture, its 10 at night and a conversation starts questioning if God is even real. It soon becomes 1 am and there is no resolve but there is relationship created. Jesus calls us to love others just as he has loved us, the second commandment that He left with us. It may not seem to make a difference unless he believes in God but one thing is for sure, Jesus left us with the holy spirit and people will know who we are not by what we say but by who lives within us. The man that this conversation happened with is now walking with us and pressing into our community. It may just be that God shows though us who he is to this man.
We have so many stories and people that we have met along this journey. God is using us even in the little things. It is so important to keep in mind that even the most unlikely people need the most love. I met a woman and at a look she seemed to have life together even talking for 4 days about life she seemed fine. The spirit pulled me to ask some deep questions and press into her and what she shared with me shocked me! She has been trying to kill herself many times and each time it has failed. She has decided that she will not live past the age of 25. I really pressed in a shared with her the deep depression that I had walked through and opened my ears to hear her story. She does not believe she can love and she doesn’t believe in God she feels that there is no hope in this life for her. Lead by the spirit I pressed and planted a seed of hope and did my best in spirit to encourage her to ask herself the tough questions. I pray that she is able to find hope loving herself and start to love God but learn also how to be loved in return. Please Pray for her Sara (not her real name) and the devil has done a toll in her heart and mind. I believe that God will use this journey to set the path of people straight.
It is not an easy thing to walk 12 to 20 miles a day by foot but it does offer a lot of time to think. The more people that I ask why they are on this walk the more I see each person has a different reason to be here. There is a common thread each person is seeking something as they walk and that opens the door for vulnerability. God is using us in a huge way here on the camino and it has blown me away at the honesty and truth that people have let me into. Life is truly hard and requires love and grace sometimes we just need an open ear and soft words. Gods placed us here for such intentional purpose and I can only start to tell you of the works of his hands here. We wrestle with the constant rejection but here everyone is in pursuit and seeking what they do not yet know. Its a community of people who are actually choosing to slow life down and seek a deeper understanding. Its a type of community that I have not seen in the busy life back home. It’s almost like each person on this walk is open to sit and talk about jesus and understand a deeper meaning to purpose in our life. Wow! truly like nothing in life I have ever experienced. Well it’s getting late and i’ve got another 17 miles to walk tomorrow thanks for your prayer, love and time reading this.
God uses the spirit to lead our words we have to be obedient in order to see fruit in our lives
