Homeword: When walking with Jesus, an end is just a new beginning

The day I decided to follow Jesus is a day I will never forget. Some look for that one thing, a purpose, a direction, all their lives and never discover it, elusive like an early morning mist. But for me it took only a moment: I would follow Him. I knew when I was 16 years old that I would become a nomad and go wherever He led. It could be described as a journey, but I prefer to describe my path as many journeys, each ending becoming a new beginning.

Kathy and I walked the Camino Portuguese this year from mid to the end of September. The journey would take us one hundred and eighty miles in twelve days, plus two days of rest. We planned the trip months ago—each daily stage with a starting point and an ending destination. After long days, accommodations awaited these two pilgrims who soon realized the meaning of the Camino saying: "If something is not hurting, you're not doing the Camino right."

Our pilgrimage along the Camino, we hoped, would become a reset for us. We were facing the end of journeys we had begun decades earlier. Change and transition became our focus. We set our hearts to use this time, walking as thousands of pilgrims have since the 10th century, seeking the Lord, declaring our needs before Him. We would seek answers to the questions we faced from the only One we trusted to answer them. And we were not disappointed.

From each "I do" in front of family and friends in the sanctuary of Sacred Heart Church in Pineville, Louisiana to every time we clasped hands and leaped in faith as the Lord directed us to begin something new, Kathy and I have followed Him. It is what you do when you walk with Jesus.

There were days on the Camino when we wondered if we could make it to our destination—the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral. Don't misunderstand me, the experience was incredible. We walked four days along the Atlantic coast, took our first rest day behind the walls of Fortaleza de Valença, strolled through eucalyptus forests along the Variante Espiritual, took our second rest day at a 12th century monastery before traveling by boat along the Río Ulla.

In time, our walking reality took its toll on our bodies. We put our heads on pillows at night not knowing how our feet could possibly carry us any further, and time and again, morning brought miraculous ability to keep putting one foot in front of the other. We truly leaned on the "everlasting arms" every day.

Metaphor? Analogy? Every prayer and every revelation on the Camino taught life lessons, and many of these were repeats of what Jesus had shown me from my earliest days following Him. Sometimes in life I have felt like a wanderer, moving from end to end; looking back shows me those ends were in fact beginnings. Which way to go at the crossroad? Jesus is already in our future, and we must follow at each signpost. His direction is true. He is faithful to provide when I am faithful to ask and then listen.

Kathy and I completed our Camino on the last day of September. We stood together in the Plaza, the cathedral our backdrop and rejoiced with the hundreds of other pilgrims, celebrating the end of an incredible journey.

Now, dear readers, I arrive at another crossroad—an ending but also a new beginning. I am composing my last Homeword. I will cease to be editor of Charity & Children with this issue. After twenty-five years, my ministry at Baptist Children's Homes of North Carolina comes to the end. I have loved every opportunity these years have provided. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to you all. I have met many of you, but there are many of you I have never met. I would love to hear from you all—I can think of no better way to end. Please send me a note to P.O. Box 436, Lexington, NC 27293 or email me at jedminson@gmail.com.

I begin the new year and the new path forward with the words of Jude's doxology in my heart: "To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen" (24-25).

And amen—to God be all glory!

Written By Jim Edminson, Charity and Children Editor