by Lilly Lewin

Praying for the Journey

Everyone is on a journey…everyone is really a pilgrim, a person on a journey with a destination.

On a pilgrimage, the journey, the process of the traveling, is just as important as the destination.

How is your Lenten Journey going so far? Are you down the road a bit or just putting on your shoes? There’s plenty of time if you want to begin. 

How we travel, with whom we travel, and what we discover along the way are key and all are gifts of a pilgrimage journey. Even the interruptions are gifts. Even the false starts and the dead ends are opportunities to see Jesus in the waiting or notice him in the delays.

Are we willing to pause and receive the gifts? To stop and notice?

What we give, and what we receive on the journey are all important to the journey itself. What have you chosen to give this Lent? What might you give away in order to grow closer to Jesus on your way? Is your backpack too full? or is there room for to receive something new?

What things need unpacking, or repacking for this journey?

Jesus was a pilgrim…he knew his purpose and he understood his destination. He spent three years traveling from place to place, without a home, without any real possessions, teaching, healing, and giving of himself.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to be pilgrims too. Not the kind that wear black hats and buckle shoes, but travelers, IN the World but NOT OF IT! We are called to be Kingdom people living our lives like Jesus while on the Journey. Pilgrims of God’s Kingdom.

YOU are on a journey …a journey of discovery and seeking. Seeking and searching for who you are and what is your purpose.

Jesus has put this in you and He longs to show you himself along the way! Have you considered the pilgrimage journey of Lent?

What is Jesus calling you to experience on the journey with him?

Are you willing to go on a journey with, and for God? What would that mean? What can this look like between now and Easter Sunday? Are you willing to go on a Journey with Jesus? To follow him to Jerusalem and learn from him along the way?

Maybe you are just starting your spiritual journey

Maybe you aren’t even sure where to begin or if you even want to begin a journey with God.

That’s totally OK, God knows you and loves you where you are.

Just be willing to be willing to begin!

 IDEAS FOR THE JOURNEY:

Find a suitcase, or backpack, or use an old paper map to use as a visual symbol of your pilgrimage journey with Jesus. Put this in a place that you will see it each day.

You can print out a photo of a suitcase, or a backpack and put that in your journal, your bible, or hang it on your mirror, or pin it to a bulletin board near your desk so you can see it and allow it to remind you to journey with Jesus each day during Lent.

Place a pair of hiking boots and or a walking stick near your front door to remind you that you are on a pilgrimage journey with Jesus each day during Lent.

Pray a Labyrinth as a part of your Lenten Pilgrimage. Prayer walking a labyrinth was a lenten practice in the middle ages when going to the Holy Land became too dangerous for an actual pilgrimage.

Create a travel journal of your pilgrim journey during Lent. Write down the people you meet, the places you go, the things you notice along the way, just as you might do on an actual trip. On pilgrimage, everything is a gift from God, from the crying baby on the plane to the missed flight, so allow Jesus to teach you in the interruptions. Write down those too. You could also put in photos, sketches and/or souvenirs of your Lenten journey. This would be a great thing to do as a family.

Help your kids see the time between now and Easter as a pilgrimage journey with Jesus. Get them to tell you each day what they noticed and what God shows them. Have them draw pictures, or write stories of their daily travels with Jesus!

©freerangeworship.com and lillylewin