An Accidental Pilgrim
This blog started when I was going to take my daughter, Anya, to Stavanger, Norway, for a 6-month sabbatical as part of my PhD studies. It was meant to keep the grandparents in touch with their granddaughter on the other side of the world. A lot has changed since then: Bellevue, WA, to Norway and back to Bellevue for a year; Sweden for six years; a year teaching at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, IA (picture below).
The Wartburg Castle
A lot has changed in Anya’s life with moves from: Bellevue, WA, to Norway and back to Bellevue for a year; Sweden for 2 years; London for 1 year; Seattle for 1 year; and back to Sweden, where she is now studying graduate mathematics.
The change isn’t over! Little did I know when I named this blog “Whithersoever Thou Goest” (drawing upon the promise of God’s presence in Joshua 1:9 in old KJV English) it would include so many international moves! There have been 4 international moves since 2015, and there are at least 3 more to go in the next 3 years!
Why more moves ahead? I have received a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Post-doctoral Fellowship. You can read about the research project at my website, mamaanya.com. So, after a summer with Anya in Sweden, I will be heading to Tanzania for 2 years (2023-2025) and then one year in Norway (2025-2026).
I will be using this blog to document the journey. I call myself an “accidental pilgrim.” I’ll be reflecting on this more as I become more fully aware of the meaning, but here’s a first try. Pilgrimages are journeys that have a spiritual focus, and for me, it is the focus on Jesus that not only nurtures my soul, but this unfailing love also calms my fears and invites me into trusting again for the next step. I know that God is with me whithersoever I go.
Yet, pilgrims typically have agency, choosing to go for a journey where there typically is a known path to a selected destination, and usually, the journey is a few weeks to a month or two–and being open to the workings of Spirit. While I’m not without agency, there is something in this 3-year journey that is beyond me—something that God is doing. I’m invited to walk by faith on a path that is not well defined and with more unknowns than knowns. The limitations in my agency are reflected in the adjective “accidental.” I don’t fully understand this right now, but you are welcome to join me vicariously in this journey! I’ll be posting here with more of this pilgrimage.
“O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us.” Amen.
The Holden Prayer