Today was a similar day to the past few days. we got up had breakfast at our accommodation and then started off. We walked through forest and then road and the forest and then road. There was no place open to sit down and have a coffee or lunch. Only difference is today we saw two dead badgers, a dead cat and a dead bird. It was strange. We saw some beautiful sites which I’ll share some here and some on social media. But I want to share the end of the day.

We were getting pretty tired at the end of our walk. We had a great day, but 19 kms with no stops is just plain exhausting. We were happy to be in Sezanne because it was a bigger city and it showed several places open and three grocery stores. As we came into town we tried to find a cafe or restaurant that was open.

We found a pizza place that showed on google that it would be open until 10:30. As we came in the door we were told they were closed. There was a man standing there with a pizza box. I had to step back out and take a breath. Noël talked to them about walking 19 kms and nothing open. We are closed was the response as I came back in. I boldly walked up to the young man and said “then you need to update your site because google has you opened until 10:30 tonight”

We said okay thank you and started to walk out. A voice said would you like the rest of our pizza!? I turned and the man’s wife had joined him. We only ate half. “No thank you it’s okay.” They asked three more times and we said no thank you.

As we were walking out the door I said to Noël we should have accepted. That was very nice of them. They followed us out of the cafe and said they had seen us along the road. And then said the only thing open was McDonald’s. They once again offered us their pizza. Noël said it’s up to my wife. I walked over and thanked them profusely!! We walked away and I stopped….

I was overwhelmed. I just start crying and Noël wasn’t sure what was going on. It’s okay, he says. I know. I just remember how many times I have offered someone food and they refused and how it felt. And how generous it was for them to do so. They also spoke to me in English. lots of tears.

We saw a pharmacy sign lit up and so headed there, even though we knew it probably wouldn’t be open, hope springs eternal. It wasn’t open. So we started towards our accommodation even though we had heard nothing from the host. We past by some boys who greeted us with a bonjour. And then asked if they could have a piece of pizza. Noël responded we just got it ourselves from some friendly people, because the pizzeria was closing and wouldn’t serve us. At that point the boys offered us the bread they were eating. We said thank you it’s okay, we are pilgrims. They asked where are you going? We are in our way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The looks on their faces were utter astonished. And then Noel said we are traveling by foot. And then again their eyes popped. Noël told them we had been traveling since the Netherlands and we did 19 kms today, their amazement gave us courage. We were amazed that these boys, once they found out what we were doing were willing to share with us.

My learning: accept help. We feel fortunate that even in difficult situations we experience grace.

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