Facing decreased independence is a reality for many, sometimes temporarily due to injury or illness, or sometimes decreased independence is the new normal, especially as we age. Losing our abilities, mobility or independence is difficult and unsettling; feeling vulnerable is never easy.  
This week as we celebrate American independence, America likes to look strong. Anything but vulnerable. We flex our muscles and celebrate with flags, bold music, even guns.
But the news makes us acutely aware of vulnerability in the world, in our communities, and in ourselves: tension with North Korea, the uncertain future of the NGS plant, gun violence, wildfires, addictions.
With all this and more on our screens and on our minds, it is easy to feel frightened, uncertain and definitely vulnerable.

Whether it is our own bodies that we cannot control like we wish we could, or terrorism, nature or accidents, a sense of being vulnerable and out of control happens to all of us in this journey of life.
A pilgrimage, an intentional journey of growth and discovery, is often arduous and even dangerous. A pilgrim embraces a sense of vulnerability, uncertain about what lies ahead, at the mercy of weather, sore muscles and blisters, not quite sure which fellow travelers can be trusted and which ones cannot. But these realities of the journey are not a reason to forsake the journey and give it up or never begin.
This sense of surrender, a necessary reliance on the deep reserves within your own character and body, the kindness and partnership of others and mostly trust in God for whatever lies ahead, is part of what makes a pilgrimage meaningful and life changing. Embracing such a journey requires strength and courage. Challenges and times of vulnerability are not to be avoided at all costs, but rather prepared for as much as possible, faced with courage and rallied resources and learned from.
If you face a deteriorating body or mind today, if life is not what you wish and you feel constrained by a lack of options, if a feeling of vulnerability and being out of control grabs you these days with the news, we do have power to decide how to respond to our set of circumstances.
Will we allow fear or anger to control us or uncertainty to paralyze us? Or will we continue on our journey, admitting that we do not have it all figured out, everything is not under our control, but we will do the best we can with what we are given?
Let us face the day and the challenges that come with courage and compassion, with trust and hope. Let us strive to remain faithful to God and to one another, faithful with the gift of our own life, and let us trust God with the rest. Let us not pretend like all is easy or the details are all as we wish they were, but let us choose gratitude and hope as we walk our journeys side by side with one another, and always with God.