This coming summer I’m anticipating walking part of the Camino de Santiago Trail (the Way of Saint James) in Spain with my sons. It will be an epic journey for me. I will carry on my back all my belongings that I will need for the time we are on the trail. I will sleep in an Albergue each night with my sons and strangers. I will walk twenty or twenty-five kms each day for close to a week. (The whole trail would be amazing to conquer but we only have a week or a little more). I will eat different food. I will meet people from all over the world, each walking the Camino, for their own reasons.

Mystery and legend surround the Camino. According to the pilgrimage’s official history, the body of James is buried in Santiago’s cathedral. His body was discovered buried in a field in Galicia by a shepherd in the 9th century and then ordered to be transported to Santiago by King Alfonso. Since that time millions have walked The Way.

It’s long been something I’ve wanted to do.

For too long I’ve noticed how people rush to get to their destinations rather than enjoying their journey. When children are young, they can’t wait to be teenagers. The cycle continues with the desire to get away from under the care and protection of parents and go to university. Then they can’t wait to finish university, get a job, find a spouse, have children, raise those kids and get to retirement so they travel and live a life of leisure. Meanwhile forty or fifty years pass by in a flash and they have missed life.

I think of the epic journey that my grandfather Castle took as a young man - crossing the Atlantic at the turn of the century - coming to a new country - probably penniless - getting a job eventually on the CN/CP railway and cooking for the train crew.

I think of Harvey’s parents coming to Canada in the early 50’s from the Netherlands, only a month or two after they were married - his mom leaving her family behind - travelling with her new husband - and settling on a farm east of Toronto - to work as kitchen and farm help.

Those were incredible and brave decisions.

Pete and Heather gave me a sweet gift for Christmas. It’s called Storyworth. Each week a question will arrive and I will answer it. At the end of the year, 52 individual stories will be written and a book will be the result. The first question has a lot to do with journeys - WHAT’S A SMALL DECISION YOU MADE THAT ENDED UP HAVING A HUGE IMPACT ON YOUR LIFE? Here is my answer.

The year was 1976! I was working at Zeller’s in the card department - sorting cards - putting them on the shelves - finding envelopes that had gone astray, helping someone choose just the right card for a certain person and a certain situation.

Before I tell you the small decision that changed my life - I must go back to Thanksgiving of 1975. Every Thanksgiving the youth in our church association would have a conference/retreat and we would meet for the weekend. I was on the planning committee in 1975 and the event would be at my home church, First Baptist Church, Cornwall, Ontario. As everyone registered for the event, host families would be given names of those who would bunk at their homes for the weekend. The weekend involved worship, Bible teaching, sports, food, games, basically, all the things high schoolers liked to do.

The worship leader and Bible teacher for the weekend was the youth pastor from the Brockville Baptist church. He was supposed to stay at our house - boys downstairs in the rec room and girls upstairs in the living room. At the last moment another girl in our youth group asked for the youth pastor to stay at her house. No problem.

I met the speaker on the Friday afternoon - under a basketball hoop. There are two different versions to the story. If you were to ask him he would have said - “I stole the ball and dribbled down the court and did an amazing dunk! The crowd went wild!” If you were to ask me, I would have said, “This guy grabbed the ball from me, dribbled down the court and missed an easy lay-up!”

The weekend was amazing! The youth pastor did an amazing job at leading the worship and speaking the Word. All too soon, it was over and everyone headed home.

Fast forward two months until Christmas. The youth Christmas banquet was planned for a Saturday night in December. It was the opportunity for all the girls to get dressed up - the boys to wear their suits - enjoy a wonderful meal - sing Christmas songs and carols and listen to speaker. You guessed it. The speaker was the youth pastor from the Brockville Baptist church.

Moving on to a Wednesday night in late January. I was at home doing homework, after playing volleyball after school, working for a few hours at Zellers and then home. Grampa and Gramma Castle came in the door from Prayer meeting at the church and the first words out of their mouths was “there was a nice young man at prayer meeting - it would have been nice if you had come too!” I’m sure you already know who it was! Exactly. The youth pastor from the Brockville Baptist church had moved to Cornwall and was boarding at one of the widows in our church.

Somehow that youth pastor managed to arrive at our house on Saturday nights, shortly before 7 pm - to watch the Leafs and eat snacks with my parents and myself. He did this for several weeks.

On a Tuesday night in late February, I was working at Zeller’s and this young man showed up - in the card department!! He asked me, (after humming and hawing a bit) to go out for dinner Friday night.

Here it is! The small decision that changed my life.

I said, “I’M WORKING FRIDAY BUT CAN GO ON THURSDAY!”

There you have it. It was our first date - Pete - your dad and I. We went to The Hayloft in Ottawa! It was a magical evening. Over the next several months we spent countless hours together - watching the Leafs - hanging out with Grampa and Gramma - playing board games - going out for coffee and meals.

On a sunny Saturday in June, Randy and I were visiting my Gramma at the nursing home where she was living. She asked me this question - “Is this your young man?” (Randy hadn’t asked me to “go steady” yet). So I said to him - “are you my young man”? He said he was and that’s when our relationship moved to the next level.

We dated for almost three years and were married June 2nd, 1979.

There have been countless journeys since those days in 1975/76, some epic, most ordinary. Through all those journeys - I have stayed close to my journey Handbook.

These are road maps I’ve used in my journey.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths.”

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil….for You are with me, Your rod and staff, they comfort me.”

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

I’m walking the Camino this summer to commemorate my 65th birthday - the 40th birthdays of my three sons (Pete’s turning 40 in August) and to mark the tenth anniversary of Randy’s Homegoing. It will be epic. It will be meaningful. It will be a blessing to spend those hours with my adult sons. You can be sure I will enjoy every step of The Way.