Hey friends! I’m on another adventure. This time to Honduras. It’s a country I have yet to travel. We will be working with the community there to install solar panels for homes. Once again I’m Tripping into Grace.

Day 64
We too have found a roadway;

it led us to this place.

We all have had to travel
in search of hope and grace.

But now beside this water
again a voice is heard.

‘“You are my own, my chosen,

beloved of your Lord.”

––Sylvia G. Dunstan 1991 Down Galilee’s Slow Roadways Glory to God Hymnal PCUSA stanza 3 

This seemed a very appropriate song to end the reflections for my camino journeys. At the time, however when I was putting my “encouragement for the journey” reflections together I had no way of knowing that the airline was going to cancel my flight home. I had no way of knowing that day 64 would be my day of re-entry into life in the USA and work. 

It was a baptism of a sorts. With 2 hours of sleep the two previous nights, a hectic and somewhat frantic experience in the Amsterdam airport, once again with the help of friends I arrived safely and was greeted with much love and affection. 

And perhaps the most profound experiences of returning were sitting at breakfast with some of the folks we feed each week and the joy of sharing a simple meal and conversation with them–community. And then trying to help a woman who was homeless get some extra food and some resources and help finding a place to stay. 

“We too have found a roadway;

it led us to this place.

We all have had to travel

in search of hope and grace….”
May you always be in search of hope and grace for yourself as well as others. 

Buen Camino 

Day 63
At the end of the end

It’s the start of a journey 

To a much better place And this wasn’t bad
So a much better place Would have to be special No need to be sad 

On the day that I die I’d like jokes to be told 

And stories of old to be rolled out like carpets That children have played on

And laid on while listening to stories of old 

At the end of the end

It’s the start of a journey To a much better place And a much better place Would have to be special No reason to cry 

On the day that I die I’d like bells to be rung
And songs that were sung to be hung out like blankets

That lovers have played on

And laid on while listening to songs that were sung 

Paul McCartney – The End Of The End 
So I have to say this is one of my favorite songs. 

We all know that journeys/trips come to an end and even the journey of life has some sort of ending even if you believe in heaven or everlasting life. There is a conclusion to this earthly journey. 

Paul McCartney does a good job of expressing a life well lived. And a journey well taken. If you haven’t heard this song I highly recommend looking it up and giving it a listen. But more than that taking the time to reflect and enjoy and live each day fully. And know that we are all on a journey and even with death that journey does not end…but 

“At the end of the end

It’s the start of a journey 

To a much better place And this wasn’t bad
So a much better place Would have to be special No need to be sad…”

Buen Camino 

 Day 62
“While the place I’ve arrived at in my life may not be precisely everyone’s idea of heavenly, I could swear sometimes—I hear angels.” Carrie Fisher 

I think one of the things that I like best about what Carrie Fisher is saying is that this is my life…as much trouble as I have had this is my life. 

Or maybe it’s just that there are angels…
Angels are a strange concept for most of us. I have to admit that I can’t speak for Carrie Fisher in terms of what she was talking about but still this resonated with me. “…I could swear sometimes I hear angels.”

The thing is for me I see them, experience them, hear them, learn from them! And they are not the saintly ones they are the ordinary people who do extraordinary things. They go out of their way to make sure you find your accommodations in a strange city; they carry the weight; they loan you their car when you are having car trouble; they help stranger and friend alike. Angels may sing off key but in a voice that you recognize because it is always the right kind of help at the right time and it is definitely a taste of heaven. 

I don’t know…but that’s what I got from what Carrie Fisher was saying…at least at this point where I have arrived in my life it…
“…may not be precisely everyone’s idea of heavenly, but I could swear sometimes—I hear angels.”

I sincerely hope you do too!!

Buen Camino