One year ago, on Canada Day -- July 1, 2024 -- I embarked on a journey like no other that I have ever had. I stepped away from my family, friends, home, and work to do a month-long pilgrimage by myself. This journey was a time of deep reflection, great adventure, and wonderful discoveries. I took a trip to my past. I connected with my present. I got glimpses of my future.
This journey was more than about travel, it was a time to unplug, recharge, and reset. There were no emails, texts, or social media, and only one brief phone call a day to my husband and kids. But there was much reading of Scripture and writing in my journal. And mostly, there was time for me to W.A.N.D.E.R. -- an acronym that I created to Walk with God, Appreciate, New Things, Dream, Explore, and Reflect.
With the support of my family, this one month "sabbatical" was a pilgrimage through Canada. That was the country where my Dad moved our family from India in 1973. We moved through many parts of Canada and were a part of many communities as my Dad began his corporate career and as we pursued our early life together as a family. Although I was born in India, it is in Canada where I had my earliest memories of childhood, many of which formed me into the person I am today.
Before my journey started on a map, it started in my heart about a year before in May 2023 when I turned 54. That was the same age that my father passed away in February 1998. Even though he has been away from this world for so many years, my 54th birthday brought everything back to me -- the memory of him, his passing, and the future he and we did not have together. Though my 54th year was a very productive one, during that time I was grieving on the inside but didn't realize it at that time.
When 2024 started, I was halfway through that 54th year. I then talked to Zack about a prompt that I was feeling -- a call from God to "walk with Him." There was nothing more or less than that, but I felt that prompt deeply. Zack understood and agreed that I needed to pursue this call. And after several months of discussion and prayer, we planned on my sabbatical in July when he could be home from his work.
But I didn't know what I would do or where I would go until I got closer to my 55th birthday in May 2024. It started to become clear to me then that my "walk" would be a journey through Canada -- to the places and spaces of my childhood, the experiences that made me. I spent some time that spring "clearing" and "prioritizing" my activities and engagements, pruning away everything except that which was most important, so that I could focus on what was ahead.
After much travel coordination and much physical therapy to deal with a hip injury, I managed to leave Colorado and head north on July 1. It was challenging to leave and go toward the unknown, but I felt so sure that I had to go.
My first stop was in Vancouver where my Uncle Mathew Koshy and family live. He is the youngest brother of my father, and over the years has become the spiritual father of our overall family as the last remaining brother in their family of 7 siblings. We enjoyed a special time of connection and prayer with the family. And my Uncle and I connected in a special way about my Dad. We talked about the purpose of my pilgrimage. And we prayed for all that God was preparing for me and for our family.
Following Vancouver, I took a long flight to Ontario and landed late night in Toronto. It was an arduous arrival in the rain, in that big city, and in that big airport, with no phone connection and thus no map or contact for my AirBnB. But somehow I used "the force" and found my way to this place that I did not know. I fell face down late that night on my bed, wet from the rain, tired from the travel, but I had arrived!
I awoke the next day in Toronto with a day and a month ahead of me to venture out to my past, present, and future. I mapped out a series of visits to the communities where my family moved every few months in my early years. Etobicoke, Scarborough, Malton, London. I had no addresses -- I just had memories and followed them to the schools and homes where I lived. Some things were just as I remembered them, but many things had changed. I walked roads that I recalled, and especially stood in places that I remembered to be formative of who I am and what I believe. I also experienced an international worship and so many other things that gave me a sense of the future as well.
One of the most special parts of my wandering through Ontario was visiting Sunny & Shella Daniel and their daughters Susan Abraham and Suma Philip. We had known each other nearly 50 years earlier. And amazingly we reconnected through a phone number that I still remembered since I was a child. They were in some ways just like I remembered them, but my friends Susan and Suma, who were like sisters to me when I was young, were now grown women with their own families. It was a remarkable visit to both the past and present.
Besides visiting all of these places of my childhood, I also had the opportunity to be a tourist. I visited the CN Tower in downtown Toronto. I remember visiting in 1976 when I was a child. At that time, it was the tallest building in the world. I visited Niagra Falls. I also visited there as a child and was no less in awe at seeing this amazing site and learning about its history with Nikolai Tesla. And a beautiful rainbow stayed over the falls the whole time I was there. I also visited Casa Loma -- an incredible castle built by a remarkable couple who epitomized what it means to reach the highest heights and endure the lowest lows. And I especially enjoyed a beautiful symphony concert in the Casa Loma Garden. Each of these sites were special to me in my childhood, but became more special with my experiences there now as an adult.
After my stay in Toronto, my travels took me on a 5+ hour car ride through the most torrential rain I have ever experienced. But somehow I managed to get through despite not being able to see most of the way and not having much GPS access. But when the rain ended, I arrived in beautiful Ottawa, the capital of Canada. I had never been there and always wanted to visit. It reminded me so much of Washington, DC. I stayed across the river in Quebec, but did an easy car ride across the bridge the next day to see all the amazing capital sites -- including Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Cathedral. There was much construction and renovation and some of Parliament was closed for another 10 years! But everything I saw and experienced over those days in Ottawa, made me realize that I could easily live in this wonderful city.
After my stay in Ottawa, I continued through Quebec to Montreal. This was another city I had never been to but always wanted to visit. Sadly, I had always wanted to visit with Zack, but we promised that we would get that opportunity at a future time. I stayed in an eclectic part of town close to the Botanical Gardens and Olympic Stadium but ventured to many other parts of the city. It was a lovely city, with so many sites, including the great McGill University, cathedrals, museums, as well as all the wonderful shops and restaurants in Old Port. That section of town was just magical when evening came. It felt like Paris and was so romantic.
I closed my time in Montreal and then did a trek back to Toronto to catch another flight to New Brunswick -- my final destination. Although it wasn't the first place where I lived, it was the first place that I remembered -- and especially an address and a house in Campbellton that had some specific memories of my childhood. Close to the airport in New Brunswick, I stayed in a town called Fredericton just to sleep before a long car ride to Campbellton. While I had no real plans to visit Fredericton, it became the unexpected jewel of my trip. It was so beautiful, active, and with the friendliest, nicest people I think I have ever met. I stayed in a lovely, historic, B&B and wished that I could've had more time there, and the innkeeper told me I should just move to Fredericton (it was tempting!).
But my quest to get to Campbellton was the priority. I arrived the next day after a long drive through more rain, into a hard working maritime town. I went to the address that I remembered and remarkably, the house I lived in was still there. I stood in front of it in the rain and took out my cell phone and for the first time in a month, I sent a text to my Mom letting her know that my journey had come to a close and I had arrived at that house. It was an amazing moment for both of us. I can't specifically tell you why, but somehow that house was the symbol of my whole pilgrimage. And now with my pilgrimage complete, I made the long trek back to Fredericton that evening for a very early flight the next morning.
It was a very foggy morning, when I went to the airport to begin my long journey back home. I travelled back to Montreal and then after a long trek through the airport, made my way to New York La Guardia for another long airport trek before my flight to Denver. The moment I stepped foot in La Guardia, it felt like America. And when I stepped foot in Denver, it felt like home. My family was waiting for me at baggage claim and I was so glad to be back with them and so looking forward to sharing glimpses with them of the remarkable month I had.
There is so much more that I can say about the many experiences and adventures of that one month in July 2024. During my travels, I didn't share my experiences in real time nor did I share the many stories and photos I took during my pilgrimage — as I was focused on the experience itself. And, from the moment I got back to Colorado, July 28, 2024, life took off in so many ways and with light speed. There just wasn't time to share those pilgrimage experiences with many.
But now one year later on July 28 2025, I am looking back to that month a year ago and realizing all over again what an incredible opportunity that was for me. But I am also looking back at the year that followed that experience. I am realizing that the month away was not just a sabbatical or pilgrimage, it was a preparing of my heart and soul and body for what was to come in the year that followed. Since returning from that pilgrimage, I endured the passing of dear friends and loved ones. I experienced significant professional and personal challenges and opportunities. I faced and survived cancer! I continued in my pursuit of justice through G.L.O.B.A.L. I embraced my family and friends that much more.
All of the experiences of July 2024 equipped me for the moments and the year that followed. That month and this past year also clarified many things for me -- especially my relationship with God and with others. I realized more than before how much God loves me, and I also realized how much my family and my true friends also love me. That one month, followed by this one year, have helped me complete a broader journey -- a pilgrimage to what matters most to me in the past, present, and future.