provision and joy at the end of the world

I found provision and joy at the end of the world, and they surprised and encouraged me to keep going.

Last week I watched the sun set at Finisterre, also known as “the end of the world.” It’s supposedly the place from where Columbus gazed across the Atlantic and wondered, “What other land exists beyond that horizon?”

This is also the location at which Camino pilgrims stop walking - they can go no further. Well, some walk up to Muxia, some walk back to Santiago, some walk other Camino routes, yet at this point, they can walk no further West.

I sat on a rocky outcrop listening to the waves crash in, watching the fishing boats troll, and noticing… Goats and birds, eating, playing, singing, and living.

A dozen goats skipped from stone to stone, long enough to munch the greenery protruding through the rocks before moving on to the next one. On one rocky outcrop, I watched them play “King of the Hill” as one after another tried to mount the top rock, only to be head-butted down by the goat already standing there.

And I watched the birds flit this way and that on the ocean breeze. I saw one swoop to catch an insect of some type and fly away with it dangling from its beak.

The images of goats and birds made me realize two things - even at the end of the world, at the end of the day, at the end of our current journey or circumstance - there can be provision for what we need to keep on living, and there can be joy in that living.

The group I was with also asked to celebrate communion while we watched the sun dip low. A story of love, of forgiveness, of hope, of life. What a privilege to remember that God’s story does not end with death, rather it continues on with resurrection.

As we continue to wait on news of our paperwork, yet with no idea where it is or any timeframe…

As we watch the Middle East melt down…

As we hear of the earthquakes crumbling people’s homes and lives…

As trafficking continues to enslave and ruin bodies and souls …

And this list could go on and on … and at the end, there will still be God - a good story will continue even after the worst of the world's ruin...

John Wesley’s final words echo: “And the best of all is, God is with us.” Through all these things, we are not alone…

The world’s story - so many people’s stories - can look bleak now, yet in God’s story we know that things do not end in loneliness or in death or in despair, rather they burgeon in hope, in light, in resurrection and new life.