The Camino Gypsy Chronicles: Ask & You Shall Receive

There are far too few times in life when you can ask for something and be sure you will get it. Employees aren't always reliable. Santa adheres to a dependent clause (have you been naughty or nice...) Betting, be it on horse races or Vegas tables, is a gamble. Prayers may work, but they're never quite a sure thing, as your will might not be the way.

I'd say, grandmothers are about the only instance when you can be rest assured what you ask for will be what you receive - and in spades. You want seconds on ravioli, she'll give you thirds. You want a sheet of a paper to draw on, she's there with a whopping roll of butcher paper in hand. You want that new Barbie, she'll not only buy it for you, but will sew an entire wardrobe for it, as well. (By the way, thanks, grandma!)

The Camino, I have come to discover, is like a grandmother in this regard. When I asked it to help me find birthday candles for mom, the next day I looked down beneath the bench I was sitting on and there was an entire pack of discarded candy-colored candles ripe for the picking. When a friend of mine hurt his knee on the trail and couldn't find a suitable walking stick in stores, the Camino brought him an albergue hospitalaro who broke a limb off a tree, blessed the stick and told him, "you don't find the stick, the stick chooses you". When mom begged the Camino for a washer and dryer in tonight's town, it brought us a lovely gentleman who would wash and dry everything for us.

Of course, these are the small gifts. Everyone comes to the Camino with a much larger life favor. Maybe it's to find true love... or to forget one they've left behind. Perhaps it's the gift of forgiveness or the clarity to know the next step to take in life. Some ask the Camino for answers to burning questions; while others ask it for future opportunities. Some beg the Camino for escape or enlightenment or an adventure to remember. I have asked the Camino for one such big favor. In fact, I've crafted a mantra that I repeat time and time again on the trail, imagining that the Camino is listening and, like my grandmother, already joyfully setting the wheels in motion to make it happen.

Now this may all sound a bit crazy. Yet, like having faith in anything, believing may not be easy, but the most magical things in life always seem to spring from it. You may be wondering what it is that I have asked the Camino for. Well, in the words of Gossip Girl, "that is something I'll never tell".

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Calzadilla de la Cueza to Sahagun.