TREKKING THROUGH THE MESETA

Not sure if anyone has seen it but I stumbled across a marvellous film recently called The Way, My Way. It tells the story of Bill Bennett an Australian film maker in his 60s who walked the 800km Camino de Santiago in Spain.

I know that doesn’t sound very exciting. An oldish, grumpy, sometimes know it all, Australian male walking 800kms by himself in a foreign country. But looks can be deceiving. This true story is funny, thoughtful, inspiring and just makes you feel good.

The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage undertaken by around 200,000 people each year and it’s becoming more and more popular. Tradition has it as a pilgrimage St James took and that he is buried in the cathedral Santiago de Compostella at the end of the journey.

The Camino is not for the faint hearted. It is tough. Incredibly our pastor Marty and his wonderful wife Leanne walked the full 800km Camino last year. They marched on through bad weather, sickness, injuries, blisters but they did it. They made it. They enjoyed it so much they are already thinking about another pilgrimage!

For them it was all about the people. You don’t walk the Camino just for fun, you walk for a reason. And that’s where it gets real as you find out the reasons. Everybody has different reasons. Whether they are on spiritual or emotional journeys, or one of self-discovery. They all tred the same path. And all are open to share why they are there. On the path strangers can become firm friends.

The Camino de Santiago has three distinct parts. The first is hard physically as your body gets used to the daily grind. It’s no longer 10,000 steps a day but 35,000 steps a day – day after day. Your body really hurts but incredibly after the first week the blisters begin to heal and the aches tend to disappear. Your gait becomes more relaxed and you begin to really appreciate your picturesque surroundings. Walking becomes as rhythmic as breathing (or so I am told).

Then you hit the Meseta. It’s a vast, treeless landscape. In summer the heat can be extreme. There are long distances between villages, no people, nothing. Just you and your mind. Loneliness and boredom play tricks on you. Some people avoid the Meseta and take the bus.

The third stage is the final 100 kms which is the victory lap – crowded with people and the glowing satisfaction of achievement. Celebrations abound with fellow pilgrims. The taste of victory is so much sweeter, the more intense the pain to get there.

I am fascinated by the Meseta.

From time to time, we all have to walk through a barren wilderness. When pain and loneliness seem constant. When things just don’t go our way. When the situation looks bleak, day after day, after day.

The Apostle Paul in his letter to the church at Rome (Romans 5:3-5) writes; We rejoice in in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

When things go well we don’t need God as much. But in the hard times, when we are trekking through the barren Mesetas in our lives, we need God. We call out to him and have faith in him. As we do this our relationship with God becomes stronger. In effect we are strengthened because of the hard times.

Like a muscle we use. Muscles become stronger through use. The muscle actually microtears under pressure. When the body repairs these microtears, the muscle becomes stronger.

So with hard times, our faith is strengthened though use. As Paul says our sufferings can be good because through them, we invite the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. This leads to perseverance, character and hope. And hope does not disappoint us because we know God is working in us for our benefit.

So each time we are forced to trek through a Meseta, we know God will be with us. We know from last time he will be there for us. Our faith is stronger now and ready to tackle our next Meseta.

As Paul writes everybody will go through hard times. No one is immune. But as Christians our perspective on them can be different. We can welcome them. Perhaps that’s a bit strong. But like Paul we can recognise that they may not be all bad. The long, lonely walk means we can’t do it ourselves – we need God. As we cry out for his help, the Holy Spirit works in our lives, and we grow our faith and become closer to him.

Who would have thought that trekking through the Meseta is a good thing. That suffering can be good. But it can be – it can be good for your soul. It can build perseverance, character and hope. It can build up our faith and lead us closer to God.

Go with God.

Peter O’Sullivan