stumbling

(Apologies- I forgot to post this last Sunday)

Stumbling into heaven- it's struck me this week how apposite that is as an image of my pilgrimage. Unsure of the way, not very sure-footed when I do find the path, discovering it's all a surprise as the scenery open up before me,  tiring, even exhausting, wondering if I'll ever make it. 

I try not to be a tourist, with all the itinerary pre-planned, everything experienced through the microphone  of a guide, or from the hermetic seal of a coach window. More first hand, a bit riskier.. I think of a bus ride to Kampala, and having no idea how to negotiate the Kenyan-Ugandan border, afraid I would take so long ( the bus already three hours behind schedule) it would go without me. And the rest.....

There are landmarks, of course, places, people where the heart rises on seeing, meeting something familiar. In the faith it's usually the cross. Always a guarantee one is on, or near the right road. I stumble less near to it, although it often seems far from heaven. Nevertheless, it's some sort of guarantee I can stumble on ,continue with some degree of confidence.