Camino bore; a lake and some trees.

Monday 14th June 2010: A lake and some trees.

It didn't occur to me at the time on the last afternoon before we caught the overnight ferry from Rotterdam to Hull: that time was spent by a lake, under trees http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delftse_Hout where we'd been many times before, and looking back I see reminders of the garden in Genesis 2-3, and of the disciples being with Jesus on a lake shore; places where encounters and learning happen.  (I realise that neither of these biblical pictures normally include bicycles, though perhaps somewhere there is a Dutch version of Stanley Spencer, who would probably include them.) We lolled about in better sunshine than we'd had most of the time in Spain, hearing occasional cheers from the distance where there was some football match going on that seemed important to those cheering.

There's no record in the Caminella of this day - no entry at all, just a complete blank - and all I remember is lolling about on the shore, and probably we had a conversation saying, 'Well, this is it - time to go home now', and wondering just how we'd find life back at home.

Some members of the Ruth group at coffee time. New carpet!

Back in 2011, it's been a busy week; last week we were wandering in the mountains, and today I did a session on the book of Ruth, having finished going through the text verse-by-verse, I attempted to give a picture of the book as a whole. There were some moving stories about how the book resonates with our own lives.

On the way to the lake in Barton.

Tomorrow I do an illustrated talk on the Psalms for our Mothers' Union in Barton, so I have a bit of midnight oil to burn for that. It's my fault, as I spent Sunday on the lake, not walking on it of course, far from it, and this meant one less session available to me for working. But you know how it is; I don't like to waste a good little wind, and like the Satnav says 'recalculating' in that Dalek voice often, I say this about my timetable when I fancy deviating from it. Tiredness is the only penalty, and is well worth it. Anyway, it's not really an illustrated talk, it's illustrations with talk. Life flows in to fill any spaces.

But how quickly I can forget that yesterday's blog was a cliff-hanger! I was wondering what I could offer in the way of some 'enlightenment' gained as a result of the camino, and now that doesn't seem at all important, which might in itself BE the enlightenment I wish for. The book of Ruth is a good one to set alongside the camino, because people can have expectations of what a book in the Bible might consist of, just like we might do about the camino. Both of them turn out to be about very down-to-earth aspects of life, about washing socks and having enough to eat, and feeling secure or 'tucked in' as I call it. God is mentioned rarely, and alongside God there is chance, and most important is a community which cares about its members and doesn't let rules be 'rules-is-rules', but rather, life is lived in the context of rules and not ruled by them (a bit sneaky, eh?); see the SCM Queer Commentary on the Bible for more: there is room for, indeed the necessity for, human initiative making rules work for us if tricky situations are to be resolved for the good of the participants; navigating our way skilfully in systems where the norms aren't always humane if they are made into 'oughts'). And anyway, to polarise the issue a bit, who would you rather be married to, righteous 'I-do-as-I'm-told' Abraham, or Jacob the devoted schemer?

The Psalms Skirt and book.

I did wonder today though if I had turned into a Wise Woman, just a bit, or even had been all along, because we have a new carpet in the church hall, and there has been some worry about it getting stained. I thought about my own approach to red wine stains on carpets, which has for a long time been to see them as little mementoes of a jolly good party and so to be celebrated. We have a dent in our dining table caused by a candlabra falling from on high one Christmas, of which I am similarly fond.

But where was I, in 2010? By the lake, in a garden with trees. Then the book of Ruth filled my mind today in 2011, and that was the best thing that could have happened; two days ago was eldest son's 32nd birthday, yesterday was anniversary of Dad's death, and today the last day before home in 2010. Plenty of up-and-downiness to cope with. As in Ruth, enlightenment won't help me get through life so much as kindness, nous, staying-power, courage and a bit of audaciousness.

The camino has not ended now, in 2010 or 2011, but it is high time Viv just let the camino 'do its work' all on its own, undisturbed by me prodding it all the time to yield something. But if I learnt something about myself, it was how much I enjoyed writing the Caminella; reflecting on the day's happenings was something that began while I was 'being a pilgrim', and is perhaps the best way to lay a day to rest. It's time I was tucked in too.