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Nearer My God To Thee
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
Darkness be over me, my rest a stone.
Yet in my dreams I’d be nearer, my God to Thee.
There let the way appear, steps unto Heav’n;
All that Thou sendest me, in mercy given;
Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee.
Then, with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise;
So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee.
Or, if on joyful wing cleaving the sky,
Sun, moon, and stars forgot, upward I’ll fly,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.
There in my Father’s home, safe and at rest,
There in my Savior’s love, perfectly blest;
Age after age to be, nearer my God to Thee.
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I am on the road at 06:30 and gave decided to walk alone for at least the first few hours! This I think is the last day of climbing in the mountains and I do want to experience the beautiful scenery on my own. There is also a few things on my mind that i need to try and figure out. If the answers come then great, but if not, this is so just beautiful to take a long stroll. There is about 8km of a sharp upward incline, before the altitude begins to even out and eventually drops. As I climb upwards the mountain ranges stretches through various layers for 360. It's hard to distinguish the cloud layers from the mountain peaks, it's both mystical and magical. The things that I wanted to process today just did not come to me, my mind couldn't force them and I just felt a sense of belonging to this journey, a belonging to the sense of community as many pilgrims have now joined the path. Pilgrims move along the path, mostly in silence enjoying the breaking of day, the birds singing, the alpine bells of the cows not yet visible. In the midst of all this I find myself humming the hymn 'Nearer My God To Thee'. I haven heard this hymn with years, yet here I am in a heavenly place and I feel closer to my God now than at any other time in my life. And so the day is now spent processing my relationship with the God of my understanding. I spend the next few hours pondering this question and by the time I am nearing my destination I feel such a depth of gratitude for this day.
On arrival there is a sort of mini re-union with pilgrims that I have walked with at various stages over the 3 weeks. A group of about 10 of us meet for dinner and discuss various experiences that have happened along the way. It is a lovely evening spent with Canadian, Belgian & French pilgrims from their 20's to 60's.
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Thought for Today (or any day!!)
Happiness is not a matter of events; it depends upon the tides of the mind.
—Alice Meyvell
It's thought that Abe Lincoln once said, "We're as happy as we make up our minds to be."
I must remember that I am always in control of my own thoughts and feelings. For me happiness is a feeling that I can choose even when others around me have chosen to be angry or sad. I realise that I am lucky that nobody else can't decide when I am happy.
I can choose to be happy today!
- comments
Mary L Change our thoughts and we change our world. Buen Camino