I had already walked roughly 30km on this particular day (many of those kilometers simultaneously very thirsty and somewhat despondent) when I came to the next fork in my Road and the time to make yet another decision — Would I walk directly to Weil am Rhein on the German/Swiss border or would I heed the “call” of the Camino telling me to take a more circuitous route thereto via a 5km detour through the village of Rummingen. There really was no logical justification for traversing the latter tributary, and yet the potent feeling that I absolutely had to do so would not let me be. So, after futilely attempting to take the easier road, I chose to heed my Soul’s unusually insistent summons and flowed the road less traveled to Rummingen instead.

A short while later, with said town finally in sight, I stopped by a large landscaping company to ask for (and thankfully receive) some water, and was told by one of the employees there that the woman who tends the tiny Jakobskirche in Rummingen (a tiny Catholic chapel dedicated to Saint James — the patron saint of the Camino itself) might be willing to help me find lodging for the night.

Uplifted by this news, I made good time into that quaint little town — just as the day began shifting into night, and came across said caretaker (Gerlinde) just as she was pulling out of her driveway to run an errand. I told her of my pilgrimage — both the how’s and why’s thereof — and she told me to wait on the courtyard steps across the street until she returned. It wasn’t long before she did so, whereupon she began to question me in greater depth about my Walk and its purposes. It was obvious that she was somewhat skeptical of my motives — and she openly admitted as such, and yet she ultimately agreed to a loving compromise anyway; allowing me to spend the night on a cot in the backyard garden hut that was primarily used as a playroom for her grandchildren … After I had settled in to my new home, Gerlinde brought out some vegan vittles from her kitchen and we shared a lovely meal together before heading each to our respective beds for the night.

Despite the rustic conditions and the biting cold, I slept quite soundly that night, and was thrice blessed the next morning when Gerlinde first let me use her basement shower to jump-start my aching muscles, then brought out a lovely breakfast for us to share, and finally unlocked the tiny chapel next door — allowing me to briefly enjoy its silent solace before heading back out to The Way … 😀

And despite the many wonders embedded in this lovely encounter, what sticks in my memories most vividly was how many times Gerlinde intensely apologized for mistrusting my intentions and therefore not allowing me to sleep in one of her home’s far cozier guest rooms. Of course, every time she did so I just as ardently thanked her for the enormous courage she DID display & the heartfelt kindness that she DID indeed offer me that day … After all, regretting the Good we have not done for others never helps us to actually DO the Good we can in the moments we are being given ever anew … 😉

“There are so many ways to be brave in this world. Sometimes bravery involves laying down your whole life for someone else or a cause bigger than yourself. Sometimes it involves giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you have ever loved, for the sake of something greater. And yet sometimes it doesn’t require such great sacrifice. Sometimes bravery is nothing more than gritting your teeth through the pain — nothing more than facing your fears by taking a deep breath and walking in the direction of caring anyway. This latter bravery might be smaller and far less visible, and yet it is far and away the kind of bravery we need the most — and now more than ever.” ~ inspired by Veronica Roth

Filed under: Peace Pilgrimage #02: Walking HOME (2019) by Scaughdt