Today I began reading The Road to Emmaus: Pilgrimage as a Way of Life by Jim Forest. In the introduction, Forest recalls learning about pilgrims in school—the English Puritans who crossed the Atlantic on the Mayflower. Later, he discovered the World Book Encyclopedia and began exploring a world far beyond his own neighborhood.
His memories brought me back to a one-room schoolhouse in Greene County, Mississippi. That is where I learned about those same pilgrims. I also discovered the World Book Encyclopedia, reading about the American Civil War, the Puritans, and people and places I had never known existed.
But another seed had already been planted: curiosity.
My mother once told me I was always full of questions. Why? How? When? Who? My mother and my oldest sister, Sue, encouraged my love of learning. There was so much I wanted to know.
Some of my earliest learning happened on the front porch. When the family gathered or people stopped by, I loved listening to conversations about the Bible and life. I heard stories, listened to different opinions, and found more questions to ask.
I was baptized when I was five and began reading the Bible at eight. I understood very little of what I read, but I wanted to understand. So I asked questions. Lots of them.
When I was seven or eight, my friend Danny and I built a little church. I pretended to be the preacher. Danny and my dog, Button, were the congregation. Looking back, that little church makes me smile. Faith, friendship, imagination, and curiosity were already finding a home together.
Then there were Claiborne and Toy Holifield. They had no children, and we became close friends. They owned a set of Encyclopedia Britannica, and I spent many days and nights at their house devouring information about people and places I had never met or visited.
They also took me places. We visited Vicksburg National Military Park, Lookout Mountain, Ruby Falls, and Gatlinburg. We climbed Clingman’s Dome, where I remember looking out across the mountains and marveling at the thought of seven states stretching beyond us.
The places I had read about were becoming places where I could stand, look, and wonder. Their kindness helped open the world to me.
Those early experiences grew into a lifetime of exploring through books, works of art, monuments, museums, and travel. Eventually, my journeys took me to forty-six states and two foreign countries. Each place offered something to discover. Each encounter gave me something to carry home.
My first book about a pilgrim was John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. In high school English, we were assigned to choose a book, read it, and give a report. I chose that one because I had been called to preach at fourteen and became a pastor at fifteen.
I was already familiar with Jesus’ teaching about the wide road and the narrow way. I had also studied Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” Roads, choices, and destinations stirred my imagination. And through it all was Jesus’ invitation: “Follow me.”
I did not understand then how these things were shaping me. I wanted to know more about following Jesus, and I wanted to understand the world in which I lived.
Pilgrim’s Progress helped me think about the people we meet along the way. Over the years, I have known companions who traveled with me for a little while, others who stayed longer, and some whose presence has continued throughout my life. Their stories have become part of mine.
Years later, sitting in a college classroom, a professor planted another seed that helped me understand the journey more deeply: life unfolds in relationship—with God, with other people, with ourselves, and with creation.
I began to recognize that truth in the life I had already lived. My mother and Sue encouraging my questions. Conversations on the porch. Danny and Button in our little church. The Holifields sharing their home, their books, and their journeys. So much of my learning had come through relationships.
Looking back, I can see how my pilgrimage began.
Today I call myself the Curious Pilgrim because I am still traveling, still learning, and still meeting people. I still have questions. I still find wonder in a book, a conversation, a work of art, or a quiet moment outdoors.
There is more traveling I want to do. These days, I think less about how many miles I might cover and more about going deeper in meditation and communion with God. I want to listen more closely, love more freely, and remain open to being changed.
I am still following Jesus.
So today I pray:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. Teach me to see. Heal what is wounded. Change me. Be present with me. Help me listen with wisdom and speak with love. Guide my steps as I continue this pilgrimage with you. Amen.
Looking back on your own life, who encouraged your curiosity? Who helped open the world to you? Where is your pilgrimage leading you today?
The Curious Pilgrim
Reading: Jim Forest, The Road to Emmaus: Pilgrimage as a Way of Life, Introduction. Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York, 2007.
Leave a comment