Introduction
Or, The Still-Quite-Feral Artist Discusses Her Intentions for This Latest Harebrained Scheme In Which She Documents Her Wild and Beautiful Walk with Jesus Christ
I first encountered the word “peregrinatio” (pron. 'pear-eh-grin-ah-tzee-oh') when I was finishing up my undergraduate studies at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. It would be another ten years before I would begin to come around to the idea of being a Christian, and another six beyond that before I would officially take the plunge into the waters. Incidentally, I ran across this word while doing research for my graduating thesis, on the subject of Irish monastic Christian poetry, of all things. It impacted me deeply, and no doubt sowed seeds that later germinated into the formative foundations of my faith.
So what is a “peregrinatio”? In a word, a pilgrimage. It is a journey undertaken in faith, by faith, and for faith. It is unique to the early Celtic church as it existed between the 5th and 7th centuries. Esther deWaal writes of it in her book, “The Celtic Way of Prayer,” as “the inward journey that is undertaken for the love of God, or for the love of Christ, pro amore Christi” (pp. 2-3). It is a journey wholly Spirit-prompted and Spirit-led, not undertaken in the hopes that one might encounter Christ along the way (as is often the case in other recorded examples of a pilgrimage), but undertaken in the deep knowing that you cannot have Christ at the end of the journey, if He is not invited with you at the first step.
This brings me to this eventually-tangible book, here and now, in the year 2024 at the time of this writing.
We have just come out of some of the hardest years the Church has ever faced, and we are still reeling. Much in Christendom is in upheaval, embroiled in a significant “changing of the guard” season – some good changes and some devastating. Politics is a mess. Society is increasingly divided... and violent about it. The economy is tanking quickly. People are hungry for God, but sadly, many – and many Christians at that – don't know where to look for Him. For many, God is an absentee Father; far-flung from where we are, and He rarely sends letters.
It grieves me because the truth is, His fingerprints are everywhere.
Until we can understand that He is with us, His people, at all times and in all seasons and in even the smallest of details – until we can invite His presence into our lives and enthusiastically seek Him with every step...
…we will continue to miss Him.
That's where this book comes in (I hope).
This is a chronicle of anecdotes, prayers, poems, and moments of my own peregrinatio through the territory in my “backyard.” A record of encounters with the God Most High, in the very wild garden He built at the beginning. (What a privilege to traverse this glorious landscape hand-in-hand with the One who designed every blade of grass, every grain of dust, cut every rock formation, told the waters where to flow, and arranged the skies above it all!) A testimony to His goodness, and the truth that He delights in every detail of our lives (Psalm 37:23).
May it inspire you to look deeper, and with a little more wonder, whether you are embarking upon your own peregrinatio, or are simply going about your everyday responsibilities.
I promise you, He is everywhere, waiting for you.
This is how I found Him.