Find Faith, Hope, and Encouragement for Your Walk with God

I found this amazing little book from when Rob and I participated in a Veteran’s Outward Bound hiking trip in Colorado. It seemed fitting as I am getting ready to embark on another pilgrimage seeking quiet and time with God while hiking a few miles a day! In this little book, I found this wonderful quote from Oliver Goldsmith, an Irish poet. “Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” This resonated with me as I am still in recovery from my back and was struggling with the decision if I should still go on this trip. I think if my focus was on making the miles everyday and being able to say I hiked the Camino, I may have never started. Instead, I shifted my focus to doing all that I can on any given day and in any given moment…and that would be enough. The experience is not about marking off the miles, it is about doing something that pushes me-and I know I will be pushed. It is about doing something that gives me quiet time with God while witnessing so much that He created-and I know I will see and experience things I have never seen before. This experience, is about connecting with others on similar journeys-and I know I will come closer to those I know and find new friends in this experience. Just like Oliver Goldsmith said, avoiding this trip because of fear of falling or failing would rob me of so much. So, as I take each step I will know that if on that day I cannot hike anymore, it was still a good day because of all that I was able to experience and I will stand up the next day and continue hiking. I love that as I am in the bible daily, I find verses that resonate with me on any given day. God reminds us of something similar, “though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes” (Proverbs 24:16, NIV)

I shared in my latest weekly message that I took a bit of a break to focus on healing after my back procedure. This week I have continued to focus on healing and testing the limits of my back as I prepare to head to hike El Camino de Santiago. I shared this with a dear friend and her wise words stuck with me…Sometimes you have to live life so that you can write. Another fellow writer once told me that he felt he had no more stories to share, I encouraged him to sit and write in support of one of our freelance writing opportunities and he found his voice again. It’s not that my voice has been silent or I ahve not felt the urge to write, it is simply that I needed to focus on healing so that I could write. It reminds me of the message of hope and restoration from the book of Jeremiah. "I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it” (Jeremiah 33: 6-9, NIV) God shares that when we God restores us, we cannot help but share and rejoice at all that He has provided. Our stories are built from living life. They are built of the heartbreaks and joys of living.

I grew up in Tennessee where Dolly was a household name. I used to love to hear her laugh and listen to all of her songs, especially her “Coat of Many Colors” song. I remember listening to her and Kenny Rogers sing so much on my record that I knew exactly where all the scratches were in my record where the music would skip as I sang along. As I heard the news of her passing today, I watched generations impacted by her loss. My girls were in shock with the news-Dolly always seemed timeless, ageless-eternal. But none of us are and I love the video her nephew shared reminding us all that Dolly was a woman of faith and no longer in pain- we will see her again.

I think Dolly’s song about the coat of many colors was probably my first exposure to the story of Joseph. That’s right, you read it correctly. I learned about the story of Joseph from Dolly’s song. I remember hearing her share of the love that her mom put into every single stitch as she made her this beautiful coat. You knew that when she put it on she was wrapped in love and no matter how cruel the kids were at school she felt rich beyond measure because she was surrounded in love.