Traveler's Prayer - Part II

"I give you THANKS, God of my journey:
For all I have learned from the life of Jesus in caring for others, welcoming the stranger, the importance of prayer, and listening to the Spirit,
For those who have always stood near me and given me strength,
For your strength on which I can lean and your grace by which I can grow,
For the desire to continue on, for believing that your power works through me,
For memories of times past, and wisdom that comes with experience,
For each new day and the hope and promise it holds,
For the joys of friendship and companions on the journey."

We are all on a journey, but we are not alone. We have our loving God with us. We have friends. We have our memories. We have our hopes and dreams.

I love that line about giving thanks for what we have learned from Jesus. I sometimes think of calling myself a "Jesusian" rather than a "Christian." Christian means so much in our society, that we often seem to forget that at its core it is simply a follower of Jesus Christ. And what better way to follow than to do as he did. We read in the Gospels that he helped the stranger, made time for prayer, and was open to the will of God the father. A roadmap for the journey.

I too give thanks for the "desire to continue on." Sometimes left to our own resources, it seems silly to continue on following Jesus. How can we do x, y or z. Really? But then we remember, we know that it is not we that are doing x, y or z, but God who is working through us. And then we are grateful for the gift, for the priviledge, of carrying on.

And last but not least, I give thanks for companions on this journey. Friends to support me, challenge me, keep me humble and remind what it's all really about. I feel especially blessed in this time of decreased vocations to have other women discerning with the groovy sisters at this time. There are currently 6 of us between the 2 US provinces walking this journey.