A Place Called Grace

I have just returned from an unforgettable journey to "A Place Called Grace." I was among approximately 30 "pilgrims" who participated in the Dan River Walk to Emmaus #46 this past weekend at a lakefront 4-H Center in Reidsville, NC. Themed "A Place Called Grace," the 7-hour sojourn...inspired by the Biblical walk by the Resurrected Jesus with two of His disciples along the Road to Emmaus...was one of the most powerful spiritual experiences of my life. Each of us pilgrims (first time participants in the Emmaus Walk) experienced the unconditional love and boundless grace of Jesus and got a little taste of what Heaven must certainly be like. I won't get into specifics so as not to spoil the experience for persons making the pilgrimage in the future. Just know that It was incredible and one that every Christian should consider making at some point. However, I will say that we laughed, cried (grown men can do it as well as babies, believe me), sang praises to God, shared our deepest burdens with each other, and heard 15 inspirational "talks" that focused on how we as Christians can more fully experience God's love and grace and share these blessings with our neighbors. Not only were we fed spiritually, but our physically bodies were stuffed as well with delicious, abundant meals and plenty of hearty snacks in between.

One of the most special things about the weekend was that throughout the 72-hour Emmaus Walk, countless people were engaged in around-the-clock prayer for each of us participants by name. Many other acts of "agape" or unconditional love like God's were shared with each of the pilgrims. I would like to thank the many Christians in our community and far beyond who prayed for me during my Walk to Emmaus and the many from whom I received cards, letters, and support. Many of these people I will never meet or know but I do know that they loved me as a fellow Christian and through their prayers positively impacted my life. Thanks too to my sponsor, my friend Will Walker, who is widely loved and respected in the Dan River Emmaus community as is his wife Genia and their daughter Amy.

The weekend was designed to allow each of us to focus our attention upon our relationship with Jesus without interference from the outside world. We gave up our watches, clocks, cellphones, computers, the Internet, and other distractions devoting our full attention to a relaxed examination of our personal relationships with Jesus and to our personal growth as Christians. After a weekend apart from the temporal world, I must say it was a challenge to return to the split-second timing required of a morning radio show host. It was so relaxing indeed, even surreal to give, up all those things of the world and just enjoy time spent in prayer, worship, study, self-examination, and fellowship with the Lord and fellow Christians.

I believe that my participation in the 46th Dan River Walk to Emmaus strengthened my Christian faith immensely and drew me much closer to Jesus. Please continue to pray for me as I seek to surrender control of my life to Christ and thereby allow Jesus to bear my burdens and fulfill His purpose for me. Although I have been a Christian for a long time, only after my Emmaus experience am I fully beginning to develop the intimate relationship wth Jesus for which my soul longs. I have found that there is a void in each of our lives that only Jesus can fill and unless we submit our tenacious human control to Him we can never truly attain the true happiness and joy that all Christians should rejoice in daily. After our incredible visit to "A Place Called Grace", now each of the Emmaus Walk participants must persevere on the "Fourh Day," which was defined as each and every day of our lives following the 3-day Emmaus Walk as we try to apply the Christian principles that we learned to our own lives in this modern material world and to share Jesus' love and grace with our neighbors, our communities, and a lost and dying world. Please continue to pray for me and other Emmaus pilgrims and our lay and clergy leadership team! I would like to invite comments from the many others in our community who have also shared in the life-changing Emmaus experience. God's grace be with you!

De Colores,
Richard