“When was the last time you were happy?” Such a question came to my mind a few years ago, as I* was giving out to God for all my miseries. “Truly, undeniably, wholeheartedly happy for the last time?” My memory responded with the colourful warmth of Polish summer days and brought me the fragrance of herbal plants washed with dew beds as the golden-white sun rose upon silent meadows.
I was the happiest when pilgrimaging to Jasna Góra – a miraculous monastery in the South of Poland. Yet my joy was never in destiny but always in being on the way.
As a teenager, year after year, I was leaving for three weeks with a church group from my town, wandering through villages and backroads, praying and praising all day long.
No plans, no schedules, and nothing to call certain. We ate what people gave us on the way and slept where they opened their doors: sometimes under a warm blanket and sometimes on the hay in a barn.
I never took any money for the way, no phone, not even a book—just a couple of long skirts and shirts and two pairs of shoes.
When I argued with God those few years ago, I realised that my happiest time in life happened when I had nothing and just walked with the Lord.
Could I give it another go? Could I go on a pilgrimage again?
I didn’t want to walk to Jasna Góra again. My call was not about reliving my teenage years but about going for a long walk with Jesus.
The longest pilgrimage I knew of was Camino de Santiago, so I spontaneously booked the flight. It felt so irresponsible: cancelling my participation in some summer choral events, pausing all my training and spending my savings before securing a new contract. It felt like gambling, but the voice in my heart was so firm that two days later, I was on the way to France, where I started my over-month-long journey. Walking Camino de Santiago was one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself—a time of empowering intimacy with God and life-changing encounters with his people.
I’m so thankful for having listened to my heart. It was July 2019 when I returned from Santiago. If I had postponed my pilgrimage only a few months, the most beautiful journey wouldn’t have happened.
Listen to him and like Abraham, go as the Lord tells you.
(Gn 12:1-4 and Matthew 17:1-19)
*Received with gratitude from a member of our Faith Community