Navigating Challenging Terrain with St. Brighid

Sunday, February 2 in some Christian traditions is the celebration of Candlemas or “The Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple.” In Gaelic cultures, this is also called Imbolc, or St. Brigit's (or the more ancient Goddess Brighid’s) Day. St. Brigit/Brighid’s day falls between the winter solstice and the spring equinox- and it marks the very first stirrings of spring. As the new buds start to appear in my garden- it always makes me think of a significant event in my own Spiritual Journey that I want to share with you.

 I had the luxury of spending most of the day by myself while I was visiting the Isle of Iona (Scotland). And I decided to climb to St. Brighid's Well at the top of Dun I which is the highest hill the island. There are a lot of wells dedicated to St. Brigit/Brighid in Scotland, Ireland, and England but this well on Iona is also called “The Well of Eternal Life.” It has been a place of pilgrimage for seekers (especially women) for a thousand years. I didn't realize what a treacherous climb it was until I was over halfway up. And I lost the trail among the rocks and scree and felt stuck.

I started to panic as I tried different ways of traversing and fell and scraped my knees. Blood was running down one of my legs making things worse. But I moved through my fear and tried not to look down. I found a discarded walking stick that helped me balance better, and (suddenly out of nowhere) as I walked and prayed, I was greeted by a fellow hiker- an 82-year-old Dutch nun- Marta who had climbed to Brighid’s Well many times as pilgrimage. She was more prepared than me- and retrieved a first aid kit from her pack and helped me bandage my knee. She then invited me to get behind her and follow her lead on the faint trail she pointed out. She spoke English, and we chatted freely about our spiritual lives and traditions. She was a wonderful hiking companion and as I followed in her footsteps, I realized that I was on a liminal Holy Ground, walking inside a beautiful metaphor for my spiritual journey with the Divine Feminine. When I was challenged, the Holy Spirit showed up in very human form. I found what I needed, and as I prayed - help, guidance, and companionship came in a surprising way that spoke my language. As Sr. Marta and I made it to the top, my eyes filled with tears. It was her 18th trip and my first. And the view and experience of the water splashing on my face from that “Well of Eternal Life” as I looked back over Iona was well worth the struggle and the climb.

May clarity and guidance find us all- as we climb around in unmarked, challenging places longing for streams and wells of living water in our nation and in our communities. And may St. Brighid and the Holy Spirit show up in all the ways we need as we embrace this collective, bruising, scary, journey of finding springs of living water in the challenging terrain we are navigating right now.