Day 52i: To speak without Words … (06/05/2019)
After leaving Monistrol the path soon became steep and quite rocky — and unendingly loooooooong as well … :O … Despite the same I was walking at a pretty smooth clip when I came upon fellow-pilgrim Jacqueline — a woman who was slowly dragging most of her belongings behind her on a type of wheeled dolly. Now this setup was probably ideal for walkways that were paved and far flatter, but it was exactly how one shouldn’t tote his or her things on the path we were actually climbing. And so it was that I paused and offered to help her carry her stuff to the top of the hill we were on — and so it was that she very politely declined my offer — and so its was that we engaged in an in-depth conversation completely in French (a language, mind you, that I never came close to mastering) — a conversation that I actually somehow mostly understood — a conversation that illuminated Jacqueline as a woman who dedicated the majority of her non-pilgrim days to providing humanitarian relief for the people of Benin … :O
It just goes to show you: if you have the humility to slow down and really get to know the folks nearby, you will find that modern-day Saints truly do abound … 😀
“I am by no means a Saint, unless you think of a Saint as a sinner who never quits trying.” ~ via Nelson Mandela
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