I grew up in church. Some of my earliest memories are of the little Pentecostal church off of Deen Road in my hometown. The church of my childhood was picturesque; it was a white, one room sanctuary with wooden pews and a steeple. It is where my parents were married. It is where I fell asleep on my Papa Nipper’s chest, listening to the gurgle of his heartbeat as the pastor preached his version of salvation. It is where I first encountered the Divine. I’m not sure we can ever really know God except through other people. And that is the Divine I encountered at that little Pentecostal church of my childhood. It was there in those wooden pews that a little girl saw adults cry tears of repentance, lift their arms in praise and hug each other in love and fellowship. The vulnerability, the recognition of our human needs and frailty, the reaching out to meet another in that moment – that is the Divine.

And that little church is where I first learned my Bible stories. One of my favorite Bible stories was about Ruth and Naomi, a foreign woman and her mother-in-law. In the story, Naomi moves to Moab with her husband and two sons due to a famine. There in Moab, Naomi’s two sons marry Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah. After a time, Naomi’s husband and both sons die. Naomi exhorts Ruth and Orpah to return to their families to find new husbands. But Ruth replies, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” Ruth accompanied Naomi back to Bethlehem, where she married Boaz and bore a child Jesse, part of the lineage of Christ.

As I prepare for this pilgrimage, this story keeps coming back to me.  I will be joining my mother-in-law, Laura, on a trip which is holy for her. Laura is devoutly Catholic and this journey to St. James tomb is deeply tied to her faith. Like Ruth, I am not of my mother-in-law’s faith. I am a foreigner to her in that respect. But like Naomi, she has welcomed me into her family with open arms anyways. And just as Ruth vowed, I vow to Laura that on this journey where you go, I will go and where you stay I will stay. And your God will be my God.

I plan on attending Mass with Laura each evening while we are hiking. I am honored to join her on this trip of faith. And though I am a long way away from that little church of my childhood, I am hopeful that I will encounter the Divine along the road, or perhaps in a cathedral on The Way to Land’s End.

 

Yesterday I received quite a pleasant surprise when my best friend Jamie shared my blog on Facebook.  An outpouring of support and interest from people I have never met filled my inbox and newsfeed. I had assumed only family and close friends would take an interest in my trip.  When one gentleman pointed out that my blog contained no reference to my name or who I am, I chuckled to myself about the oversight. So without further ado, let me introduce myself –

My name is Michelle McLaren. I live in Daytona Beach, Florida with my husband Bryan and our 3 four-legged children (Django, Macy & Sky). We also have 4 two-legged children between us:  my son Todd (21) who lives in Pennsylvania and my three beautiful bonus daughters Cassandra (18) who lives in Arizona, Hailey (16) and Cassie (15) who both live in Davenport, Florida. Bryan and I own and operate a small retail business. When we are not working, you can usually find Bryan and I spending time with our family and friends, traveling, enjoying some live music somewhere or perhaps binge watching one of our favorite TV shows.

Now you know all my stats and official titles – wife, mother, business owner, music lover and TV junkie. I will soon be adding Camino Hiker to that list. I look forward to sharing that journey with all of you

Thank you for reading!

 

 

This past August during a birthday dinner for my mother-in-law Laura, she mentioned that one of her bucket list items was to walk the Camino de Santiago. I had heard of the Camino, but knew little else except that it was an approximately 500 mile hike in Spain. I didn’t hesitate. Before I even had a chance to think it through, I heard myself say “Let’s do it!”.

I have always been drawn to stories about pilgrimages  –  The Canterbury Tales, Hinds’ Feet on High Places, Siddhartha, The Alchemist, Wild.   There is an allure in the idea of leaving the trappings of the rat race in search of something real….peace, truth, simplicity, perhaps some ancient wisdom. Who knows if any of that is attainable? Something tells me, that like water, truth slips through your fingers when you try to grasp it.  Lately, I have been wrestling with all the doubts and questions that midlife brings. A pilgrimage to do some soul searching was timely. And if peace and truth allude me, at the very least I could lose 10 pounds and enjoy the sense of accomplishment.

The Camino de Santiago is traditionally walked as a Catholic pilgrimage to the site of St. James tomb in the Spanish town of Santiago de Compostela.  Before St. James’ remains were found in the 9th century, the route was known as Via Finisterre or The Way to Land’s End. There is archeological evidence that the Celts traveled it 1,000 years before Christ in search of “Land’s End” and the “Sun’s Resting Place”. For these pagan peoples, the route followed the Milky Way across northern Spain and ended at Cape Finisterre, the westernmost point of Europe, where the land ends and the sea swallows the sun each night.

Cape Finisterre

Laura and I have decided to walk the Frances Way on the Camino. It is the route that starts in St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port and ends at the tomb of St. James in Santiago. We will then continue on to Land’s End at Finisterre. The journey will total about 544 miles.

We will hike with only what we can fit in a backpack and will stay each night in albergues, which are small hostels for pilgrims along the path.  A pilgrim’s meal is usually offered at the albergues each evening. The journey will take us approximately 6 weeks.

Our flight will arrive in Paris. We will explore Paris for a couple of days before taking a train to St. Jean. Upon arrival, we will register as pilgrims. Our pilgrimage will then start.

I have created this blog to share my preparations, photos and journey with family and friends. I’m also hoping that writing about my experience will help me be more thoughtful about the journey and create space for me to meditate on the things I learn along the way.

Thank you for reading!