For the past two weeks I’ve been doing a Digital Camino with InterVarsity. Lord, You know how I’d loved the experience in the summer, so when it was offered again in October, I signed up. With an added bonus. I invited readers to join me on the journey.

And half a dozen readers did sign up. So for twelve days each of us immersed ourselves in walking the Camino from wherever in the world we happened to be. We listened to a podcast on each of five different walks. Then later, we’d ‘debrief’ via zoom, discussing the questions provided to ponder after each walk.

And You met me, met each of us, in such sweet ways, Lord, as we walked, step by step, listening, breathing, praying, observing nature. Such simple things. Such life-giving practices for our souls.

The first walk centered on the theme of Simplicity.

Here are a few questions (in bold) that we pondered after our first Camino walk:

Along this Camino, you are invited to carry a stone that symbolizes something you’re going to want to leave behind. What does Jesus invite you to leave behind?

The stone I picked up this time symbolizes that I am leaving behind my need to try to control so many things in life that are past control and end up spiraling me into worry. I kept repeating on this walk: I relinquish control, Lord, and I trust You. Covid has certainly made me and all of us aware of our lack of control.

During the walk, you are encouraged to practice a breath prayer based on the first verse in Psalm 23: “Lord, My Shepherd / I lack nothing.” How does it feel to say you “lack nothing”? How is God inviting you to trust that he is going to meet any places of lack in your life?

Praying the breath prayer, Lord, was humbling, convicting, and ultimately freeing and joy-producing. First, it is so true that I lack NOTHING—I have a home, a family, two jobs, enough material comfort. Most of all, I have YOU. Yes, I have SO MUCH. I am humbled by the way You have provided for all my needs. Even during this strange Covid season, I have enough.

But I am also convicted about my selfishness in wanting MORE. More time, more opportunities, more freedom, more of whatever I’m thinking will fill me up. Thank You for forgiving me when my pride and greed take over. Please help me forgive myself for my selfishness and trust You, my Gentle and Loving Shepherd as I relinquish control again and again and move into Your grace.

What are extra things that make you feel more secure in your life journey? What would it be like to release those today? Ask God if there is something specific he is inviting you to leave behind.

Lord, so often I carry way too much baggage (physically and emotionally) on my life-journey. I love the emphasis on the Camino of simplicity. Taking only the bare essentials and walking, step after step after step. I know You are asking me to leave behind the burden of trying to control the results of launching The Promised Land out to readers. So much work is involved in the writing and the editing and the marketing: days, and weeks, and months, and years of work. And the question and the plea: Is it worth it? Oh, Lord, please make it worth it, whatever that means in Your Kingdom.

In Matthew 10: 5-14, Jesus invites his disciples into a mission of hope and healing, a mission that is too big for them. But instead of having them gather extra supplies or acquire advanced training and credentials for the task, Jesus tells them to take less than what they think they need. Jesus invites them to simply and profoundly trust the One who calls them. How can you trust Jesus and step into his mission?

My temptation is to try harder and harder. You keep reminding me simply to do my part and trust You and others to do what I cannot. But Lord, You know that trusting part is really difficult. Not only for this book, but for so much more, our workers, our family, our country, and our world. Trust You. The way I can trust You today is by giving over to You my worries, even if I have to do it 100 times in a day and focusing on You and the way You have provided in the past for Your disciples, for all the believers who have gone before me, and for me, too. For today. Simply for today.

I invite you, dear reader, to choose a stone from somewhere near your home to carry with you in this season. For the next weeks here in Letters to the Lord, I’ll be sharing more of what the Lord revealed to me during this Virtual Camino and praying that you will take time to consider some of these questions, too.

ELIZABETH MUSSER writes ‘entertainment with a soul’ from her writing chalet—tool shed—outside Lyon, France. Find more about Elizabeth’s novels at www.elizabethmusser.com and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and her blog.