G’day folks, olá, hola. Ciao, witam, bonjour, hallo, annyeonghaseyo, kamusta, shalom and as-salām 'alaykum

Hope you are all well and have had time to reflect, regroup and perhaps, if you are on the front line for the past couple of days with the storm, will have time to restore your souls in the next days or weeks. Weathering storms teaches us a lot about resiliency.

Our youngest son Alex, now 28, just happily completed a ten-day walk. He started in Porto, Portugal, and walked to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. This walk is part of the official Camino or the Way of St James.

It is a classical pilgrimage for some, mainly Roman Catholic Christians, to visit the grave of St James in the Cathedral of Santiago. St James was, according to the New Testament, a younger brother of Jesus.

Time to listen

Alex did the Camino not as a religious deed or penance, and I guess as a Protestant he does not believe that the grave of St James can help him in any way with God, however, it was for him a spiritual experience.

His desire was to have time to reflect, to immerse himself in nature, to meet new people, and maybe have some deeper time with God. His mobile phone was off completely while hiking, not even music, just nature and sometimes the sound of silence, the wind, the rain, or the ocean: a true digital detox in the 21st century.

In our digital world with many hours of screen time every day, it is more and more recommended to implement some time without electronics, which is good for the eyes, the brain and maybe the whole being. On the Camino, some people who do this walk may start from France, Germany, Italy, England or even Poland. In some cases, pilgrims walk for months or even a year. Maybe you know of someone who had the opportunity to do this or you have done it yourself.

Each evening he sent a short WhatsApp update to our family, usually with pictures of landscape, people and himself. We enjoyed those pictures and reports.

He also kept a daily journal, which we enjoyed immensely. In it he told us how his feet hurt, how many kilometres he did every day, and what the accommodation was like. Some hostels, also known as refugio or albergue, had been fantastic, in others it was less pleasant.

He kept a St James Pilgrim Passport, in which he received stamps from the stations, but also drew and painted pictures and collected memories from friends he met along the way.

Of course, he was elated when he finished the journey with a smile from ear to ear and a lightness in his heart and in his step. After the first difficult and trying beginning, he told us how everything seemed to get easier and lighter with time and practice. Even his backpack felt less heavy towards the end.

Life before the rush hour

His trip made me think how little we move our feet these days. We are so used to depending on our car, bike, buses or even planes to get where we want to be. Growing up in a little village, there were farmers who still had horses to pull carts and machinery, or very small tractors, and often they would stop in their tracks when they met a neighbour or a friend, as we sometimes experience here in Bermuda on a main road or side road as well (smile).

People took time to exchange a couple of words with each other before they went on to do their work. In Bermuda it must have been similar, especially before private cars were introduced.

If we would go even further back in time, walking was the main means of transportation for the majority of people around the world. If you were lucky, you may have caught a ride on a wagon pulled by oxen, or you may have had a donkey.

This is true for the times of Jesus as well. Isn’t it interesting, that Jesus and his disciples walked from one place to another? Have you ever had enjoyed walking?

They could have had their camp somewhere and wait for the people to come to them, but Jesus went to meet the people where they were. He walked all across the country, even through Samaria, a portion of the land that other Jews avoided as they considered their people to be not pure Jews, but having other heathen influences included in their religion.

By walking and coming to their places, Jesus met many people who would have never found their way to Jerusalem or a synagogue, ashram, church or whatever you may call a religious centre.

He met tax collectors who wanted money from people to pass through, he met people who could not walk, some could not hear, or see, or smell, all of whom had been outcast. Many people believed that sickness was punishment from God, thinking that in some way those poor people “deserved” to be sick, which is obviously not true from a Christian perspective.

Jesus approached them differently. He restored not only their health, but also their dignity. To him the people were most important. He had come to find those who were lost. He invited them into the Kingdom of God which can begin right among us, here in this world and before death already.

Christ is right among us where people see each other and take care of the needs of each other. Faith can grow when we learn to trust God more than our own efforts, belongings, wealth, or personal perspective.

Perhaps we can try to begin slowly with walking, talking, seeing, and hearing others more, looking up more. This can increase our overall wellbeing, as life is about relationships. The most important relationship being our connection to our heavenly Father. Yes, let us look up from our screens from time to time.

There are 1,440 minutes in the day. In our hustle-bustle 21st century cool — perhaps somewhat cold — style, we feel like we just don’t have the time for anything, let alone slowing down or chatting and connecting with anybody — even a partner in a marriage or business, or a child at home, or even a pet.

So, the idea of daring to look up more, to see the “stranger” in front of us, across the way, in the way, who might be in need of some cheering up or connection, seems really impossible to do. Isn’t it the little things as we go through life with other people that really matter?

The little walks, the little talks, quiet moments to reflect, sometimes alone and sometimes with others together to encourage another human being, may require a profound shift in how we view the world.

Seeing life through a new lens of openness and possibility can help us to learn to become freer and lighter as we are wired to try new walks always.

This is especially true on the journey to freedom in Christ Jesus. He is the real deal. He will be beside you on every step on the way of your personal journey through life.

With all the meandering and sometimes road blocks or setbacks, we can feel stuck at times. Exploring new activities or habits without fear, because you know that if God is for you and rooting for you, who could be against you?

Dare to step out and step up in blind faith. Learn one baby step at a time to embrace life’s challenges with resilience.

• Karsten Decker is a German theologian with a double degree equivalent to an MTheol and MDiv. He studied in Marburg (Germany), Knoxville (USA), and Toronto (Canada) and comes from a united church of Lutheran and Reformed Churches. He was the pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Bermuda from 2010 to 2017, and after returning from Germany is now the temporary pulpit supply at Centenary United Methodist Church in Smith’s