HOPE ON THE WAY | KAIROS GLOBAL | DECEMBER 2025

Author: Natalie Guajardo

Intro: Natalie Guajardo’s walk of the Camino de Santiago did not pan out as planned. Amidst the physical pain and personal upheavals, she kept walking, praying and trusting.

Everyone likes things to go their way. That was certainly the case when I planned my first trip to walk 100 km of the Camino de Santiago. Since the 8th century, pilgrims have followed this famous route of St James the Greater through Northern Spain to visit his relics at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. I expected my journey to be the highlight of my year, reaching exceptional physical and spiritual heights. From the beginning of my pilgrimage, however, it was clear there would be some bumps in the road.

Our initial direct flight was cancelled last-minute. Flights the next day got us stranded in Amsterdam and London. Finally, after third and fourth flights, we were stuck in the Madrid airport for hours waiting for everyone to arrive and hunt for lost luggage. By the time we were all finally in Spain, we were two days delayed, hungry, and exhausted. I started to understand the Israelites leaving Egypt. As they encountered trouble in the wilderness – hunger, frustration, getting lost – they were quick to grumble and think about turning back. Many on our trip considered going home early. Thankfully, we all stayed and got to experience the pilgrimage.

By the end of my first day walking the Camino, I had strained a muscle at my shin. The next several days of the pilgrimage were full of severe pain. It just seemed things wouldn’t go right. It wasn’t just the pilgrimage that was hard. Several things in my life back at home were challenging too. As I limped and prayed to God, I asked the same question over and over. ‘God, I’m trying to do good things to serve and honour you with my life, but I just keep finding a lot of difficulty and pain. What is up with that?’

I could imagine St James having similar questions. Travelling from Jerusalem to the ends of the known Western world, St James must have encountered uncertainty, fear, pain, and ridicule all because he loved Jesus. To honour God, St James obeyed Jesus’ commission to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Much of his evangelism initially felt like a failure as many natives in Spain rejected him and the gospel. They were stubborn and superstitious and refused to believe in Jesus. Despite this, St James believed so much in Christ that he was even willing to die for his faith as the first martyred apostle. Ironically, St James’ struggles were what encouraged me to trust God.

Many things didn’t go as St James may have hoped, but that alone is the key. Hope keeps us going. Walking along in pain on the Camino, I had to hope that God still had my good in mind. He is the Good Shepherd who leads his flock on good paths. I spent my walks seeking all of the little joys God prepared. A sweet smelling pink flower, red earth of charmingly simple farmland, practicing my Spanish with a patient Spaniard, rich cream of a delicious pastry, or a laugh with a friend were all things that inspired gratitude in a day. When I wasn’t sure I could endure to the end of long hours walking, I could focus on gifts like these that the Lord provided.

Above all, what got me through the hardest times was prayer. Every morning, I started my day with a Rosary asking Jesus and Mary to walk with me. Short respites throughout the day in small, historic churches provided moments of peace and quiet with the Holy Spirit. Counting the challenges and blessings of the day as I prepared for bed helped me see what God did. Ultimately, prayer made the Camino seem possible.

During the long hours walking, it was easy to think I might never reach the stunning Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The pain in my leg only increased throughout the day and spread down into my ankle and foot over the course of the trip. I was determined to make it and asked Jesus, Mary, and the saints and angels to help me walk all of the way. Thankfully, God also blessed me with lovely travel companions. My friends were always there to offer an encouraging word, a pain cream or medicine, or a trekking pole when I needed it. I was truly humbled by how many people, sometimes even strangers, made sure I had what I needed. What I thought was going to be a journey of proving my strength really showed me how good it is to depend on others’ help.

Dependence became a theme of my prayer. A pilgrimage is meant to remind us of our whole life’s journey to heaven. At first, I was angry with God that so many things weren’t going my way on the Camino and at home. I believe God allowed my physical pain on the Camino to connect me to some of the other pains in my life. He knew I needed a clear reminder every day to bring them all to Him in prayer. How I needed to get help from others and really be totally dependent on God to see me through a day showed me just how desperate we all are for God. We need Him every step of the way. In fact, Jesus is the way.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus describes Himself as the vine to whom we are connected. If we ever try to live apart from Him, there is no way for us to receive life, and He wants to give us abundant life. That is hard to believe when the perfect life we imagine doesn’t match up with the life Jesus has in mind for us. Often, when we are seeking life on our own, we turn away from God’s law and we sin. We pursue what we want in ways we know we shouldn’t. We stray from a righteous path. That’s why it is so important for us to ask God to teach us His ways, for the Holy Spirit to fill us with wisdom of what is right and the courage to pick up our crosses and follow Jesus. His way and the Blessed Mother’s were riddled with much suffering. 

The most obvious examples of the world’s fall from grace are pain and suffering. It makes sense when we are troubled by these things. When we desire righteousness, it pains us to see things not right. But Jesus tells us to not be troubled because He has overcome the world and we can trust in Him. Like believing I could make it all the way to the cathedral at the end of the Camino, we can have hope that we will see heaven. At union with our Lord, we will see Christ wipe away every tear, take away every pain, and make all things new.

When we finally reached the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, the presiding priest of the Pilgrim Mass drove this point home. He shared the important difference between a vagabond and a pilgrim. A vagabond wanders around aimlessly with no clear goal in mind. His journey is uncertain and potentially pointless. In contrast, a pilgrim knows where she is going. A pilgrim has hope because of this. As followers of Christ, we are pilgrims. We know where we are headed and who leads us there.

So even when things don’t go our way – when the road is full of challenges – we can always have hope. We have a good guide on this pilgrimage whose desire is always for our greatest good. What He brings about and permits, He can always use as a way to bring us to Himself, where there is no better place to be.