Looking for Christ on the Camino

To say that Martin was verbose would not do him justice. Chatty, talkative; you get the idea.Tall, good-looking and a very fit 70 year old, he came from Oregon and we met him on the Camino in Spain. The Camino de Santiago is the 500 mile pilgrimage path and we met Martin towards the end of our journey.His hiking companions told us that he had recently lost his wife, thus the need to talk. If you were near Martin on the trail, you heard his voice.

This particular day on the trail, was not a good one for me. It was my son's 41st birthday and I had no way to call him. The walk seemed hard and gloomy.

Kevin is my second son and from his delivery to this minute, he has been a joy and a source of pride to all six of us. A happy baby, an achieving teen-ager, a good man. He is a kind person who once gave away a much wanted prize of a pair of athletic shoes to a needy stranger. That kind of caring makes me weepy. It is just one story of many.

That misty Sunday, we arrived in the town of Melide in time for Mass at a small, grey stone church right on the path. As we were leaving, in my heart, I heard this: "Look for Me today."

We wandered the town, found a room and later, at dinner, looked up to see Martin enter the dining room. My first impulse, I confess, was to turn my head. Wasn't this day grim enough? But my husband signaled him over and he joined us. The conversation began. Somewhere in there, I mentioned that it was my son's birthday. Then, I told about the time that Kevin moved to Boulder to train for the Olympics in distance running. And how none of his family, including his sorry mother, called him that lonely day in the Rocky Mountains. How devastating that had been for him, just having moved away for the first time. With that the dam burst and the flood of tears that I had held all day had me sobbing as I left the room.

This is the miracle: as I told my tale, dear, white haired, concerned Martin listened with deep compassion. I needed to share my love for my son and Martin heard me and was the Christ I had been told to look for. I think of Martin, and remember.