For at least twenty years, I have enjoyed walking labyrinths. Labyrinths are maze-like structures that have been used as spiritual tools for centuries. For the past nine years, I’ve been walking labyrinths throughout the northeastern United States, and blogging about them. To learn more about labyrinths, check out this page at the Labyrinth Society. To find labyrinths near you, try the Worldwide Labyrinth Locator.

In June, my family was on vacation in the southwest of the United States. Everything is big out there, everything is very spread out. There were labyrinths I could have walked along our journey, but most of them were several hours out of the way. But there was one that was nearby. We spent two nights in Gallup, New Mexico, and my older son and I traveled to Westminster Presbyterian Church. He stayed in the car while I walked.

This labyrinth is a 7-circuit classical style. The path is stone and dirt, while the walls are made of larger rocks. It felt very in tune with our impressions of the southwest – lots and lots of rocks. It was such a familiar walk to me at this point, yet so new. An old pattern with new rocks. The wind blew strong as I walked.

The question I brought with me into the labyrinth this day was one I knew I had to ask. All year, I’d been expecting something “new” in my life. Ever since walking the labyrinth at Johnsonburg Camp and Retreat Center on New Year’s Eve, I had been feeling like something big is coming. For a time in the spring, I wondered if that meant I would be elected Bishop of the Northeastern PA Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. As it turned out, I was indeed a viable candidate, ending sixth in the election. But that was not the big change. So what is it? What do I need to watch for? Ever since New Year’s, I have been trying to ponder, to take things slow. That has been my watchword for the year. I figured that pondering might be what leads to this big thing. But now the year was almost exactly half over. Surely there was something else to do now? So the question I asked was, How can I discover the new thing in my life?

Well, I suppose I should have expected the answer I received almost immediately upon entering the labyrinth. It came with even more force than the New Mexico wind that blew off my hat.

The answer was two sentences: Keep pondering. The year is not over.

There’s a lot more to go. Pay, attention, keep pondering, and you’ll see.

I traveled 1600 miles from home to learn that. Sigh. Back to pondering!