Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to His beloved is that of overcoming Self. –St Francis

Lift up your heads, O gates,

And be lifted up, ancient doors,

That the King of glory may come in. Psalm 24:7

And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king. Esther 5:11

God blesses those who are humble,

    for they will inherit the whole earth. Matthew 5:5

Ah, one realizes the beauty of pilgrimage or journeys out into the desert and why  such a passage has been part of spiritual passages around the world, throughout time.

How to die to Self, in order to find Life, step by step.

Sifting wheat, as in the great empty, harvested fields I am walking through.

Stillness to hear His gentle rebukes. 

And the soaring lilt of a grateful heart.

And walking (sort of, as I wander away from the directing orange arrows or red and white naturalist bars with distracted frequency) the path of a faithful follower of Christ, Francis, one considers the impact, the fruit of a life held loosely, in humility and a welcoming love who noticed Jesus in all that He created. 

Indeed, indeed he inherited the earth.