Pilgrim

Words are often meaningless
Until we grow into them
There are no shortcuts
To that person we might become
We must be forged
On the roads we travel
Choosing our Way,
We walk forth
Carrying so much
Finding we need less
Than we ever imagined
Our path is marked
By the detritus left behind
Our hope is found
In hidden places along the Way
You started this journey
Claiming the word
Praying you had strength enough
To meet its demands
But there was no way to know
Those trials you would face
No way to know the price you would pay
To move forward on faith alone
Requires courage
But your faith was in yourself
And not enough for the Way ahead
Those first bold steps
Led to the faltering ones to follow
You had to break
Before wholeness could be found
There is a lifetime hidden on this Way
Finding it, demands all of you
Hills and valleys
Sun and rain
Wind and tears
The road took all
And gifted it back
We walk through our lives
Blinded by the bright, the shiny
Here, you found the dull and the worn
Time and distance made it
Just for you
Here, you realized that your faith was not enough
The Way called you to more
The You that existed before
Must yield to the one to be born
The faith you held before
Must be broken to be remade
In the old, you found new
And the many hands reaching for you
Held you through the rain
Cleansing you through baptism
Of a different kind
You set forth unsure of what you might find
Arriving, they called you Pilgrim
Arriving, you found all that you left behind