• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Emerging Scholars Blog

InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network

DONATE
  • Home
  • About Us
    • About Our Bloggers
    • Commenting Policy
  • Reading Lists
  • Scholar’s Compass
    • Scholar’s Compass Booklet
    • View Recent Posts
  • Connect
    • Membership
    • Events
    • Donate
    • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Reading Lists / The Four Loves / Love God and One Another / Pilgrimage Practices (#1): Becoming Aware of Our Stories

Pilgrimage Practices (#1): Becoming Aware of Our Stories

August 28, 2023 by Jamie Noyd No Comments

Photo © Jamie Noyd, 2023. Used with permission.

In anticipation of the next Via Divina online pilgrimage, The Harmony Way, pilgrimage director Jamie Noyd will be sharing six spiritual practices of pilgrims over the next weeks before The Harmony Way begins on October 14. Visit the landing page for The Harmony Way for more information and to register.

What story is driving your life today? As humans, we are wired to make meaning and understand the world through narratives that connect the events, people, beliefs, and places in our lives. Neurobiology and neuropsychology are confirming the physical reality of what we have known to be true. We are always living in and creating stories, whether we are aware of them or not. To know who we are as individuals and communities, we must know what story we are part of.

Pilgrimage – a journey taken in light of a story – provides time and space to reflect on the stories in our lives. From Genesis to Revelation we encounter people whom God meets and transforms while they are on a journey (Abraham, Hagar, Jacob, Naomi, Paul). Along the way they become more aware of God’s faithfulness in their stories. As pilgrims we leave behind familiar places and routines, and God opens space to become aware of narratives that have been weighing us down and causing anxiety, along with those that reveal God’s faithfulness, mercy, and love.  

God’s story is powerfully portrayed in Psalm 136 where we see the many actions of God on behalf of God’s people, from creation to deliverance and provision of daily bread. Interspersed among God’s acts is the refrain, “his faithful love endures forever.” As we recite these words and this story, we re-narrate our lives. That truest story is one where God is steadfast, loyal, and loving – and his actions demonstrate this.

So what could it look like to become aware of the stories that are shaping us as we walk as pilgrims onto our campuses?  To listen to the invitation to journey toward God’s fuller story? This can be difficult when we are still enmeshed in familiar routines, but not impossible. 

Often on campus we are defined by our degrees, our research, our minds.  Defined by our departments and the committees where we serve.  Many of these things are good parts of our stories.  Through them we celebrate and explore God’s good creation.  Yet, they can quickly become idols and turn our souls from trusting God.  Instead of relying on God’s presence in our lives, these other stories tell us it is up to us to succeed and even survive. 

In contrast, through the practice of becoming aware of the stories in our lives, we can start choosing to inhabit God’s story and follow the footsteps of those who have gone before. We hear the invitation to return every day to God whose faithful love endures forever as we are freed to love God and love our neighbor on campus and in our communities. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Take a moment to recognize a story or two that drives you.  What gives meaning to your life?

Read Psalm 136 and take a few moments to ask God what story he is inviting you to live into.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Brewster, Annie.  The Healing Power of Storytelling, 2022.

Elie, Paul. The Life you Save May be your Own: An American Pilgrimage, 2004.

About the author:

Jamie Noyd
Posts

Jamie serves with InterVarsity Graduate and Faculty Ministries as an Associate Director of Faculty Ministry and serves as Director of Faculty Pilgrimage for InterVarsity’s Faculty Ministries enjoying the opportunity to put into practice her doctoral research in literary pilgrimage and her training in spiritual direction. She coordinates online and in-person pilgrimages. She also ministers with the local faculty community at the University of Cincinnati.

  • Jamie Noyd
    https://blog.emergingscholars.org/author/jamie-noyd/
    The Franciscan Way (Walk One): Joy and Suffering
  • Jamie Noyd
    https://blog.emergingscholars.org/author/jamie-noyd/
    The Franciscan Way (Walk Two): Poverty and Abundance
  • Jamie Noyd
    https://blog.emergingscholars.org/author/jamie-noyd/
    The Franciscan Way (Walk Three): Community and Contemplation
  • Jamie Noyd
    https://blog.emergingscholars.org/author/jamie-noyd/
    The Franciscan Way (Walk Four): Making Peace

Share this:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • More
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: Christian Thought and Practice, Love God and One Another Tagged With: Pilgrimage, Stories, The Harmony Way, Via Divina

Reader Interactions

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Become a Member

Membership is Free. Sign up and receive our monthly newsletter and access ESN member benefits.

Join ESN Today

Scholar’s Compass Booklet

Scholar's Compass Booklet

Click here to get your copy

Top Posts

  • The Message of Genesis 1
  • Faith and Reason, Part 2: Augustine
  • Head, Heart & Hands: Fragmented Faith and Fragmented People (Intro/Chapter 1)
  • Writing a Christian Personal Statement
  • Faith and Reason, Part 3: Aquinas

Facebook Posts

Facebook Posts

Footer

About Us

The Emerging Scholars Network (ESN) is a national network within InterVarsity’s Graduate & Faculty Ministries which supports those on the academic pathway as they work out how their academic vocation serves God and others. We encourage and equip undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, and early career faculty as they navigate each stage of their academic vocation and transition to the next step in or beyond the academy.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Recent Posts

  • Pilgrimage Practices (#4): Praying
  • Emerging Scholars Network Fall Book Club
  • Science Corner: Back to Math Class

Article Categories

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact Us
Member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students
Copyright © 2023 - InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA ®. All rights reserved.

InterVarsity, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, and the InterVarsity logo are trademarks of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA and its affiliated companies.