Intentional Living as a Spiritual Pilgrimage for Every Day
Oct 12, 2026Blog by the Unhurried Living Team
Intentional living becomes a spiritual pilgrimage when you treat your ordinary days as a sacred journey with God rather than a list of tasks to manage. In a recent episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Gem Fadling, co-founder of Unhurried Living, describes pilgrimage as both an outward journey and an inward exploration of the soul. She offers five simple practices that let anyone walk this way at a slower, more attentive pace.
Most of us are moving quickly. We fill our days and keep going, yet underneath the busyness sits a quiet longing to feel more present, more connected, and more awake to God.
Gem has facilitated four pilgrimages in Italy for women alongside her friend Mary, offering what she calls sacred hospitality. The American Heritage Dictionary defines pilgrimage as a long journey or search of exalted purpose or moral significance. Gem suggests that definition is a wonderful theme for an entire life.
If our time on earth is brief, then in a real sense we are all pilgrims. What follows is a way of intentional living that begins with intention, moves through honest reflection, and settles into presence with the God who walks beside us.
How Does Daily Presence Begin With Setting an Intention?
Gem's first invitation is to set an intention. In a busy and distracted world, intentionality slips away quietly. Daily presence rarely happens by accident; it usually begins with a pause long enough to notice what we actually want.
Gem pairs intention with desire, because the two go hand in hand. She suggests sitting with God in prayer and gently asking what you want and what you are hoping for. As you linger with those questions, an intention often rises on its own.
For example, you might realize that you miss beauty. Your intention might become this: as I enter this day, I will let my eyes see and my heart take in the beauty around me. Life often rushes past beauty entirely, and intentional living is partly a decision to stop rushing.
Every spiritual pilgrimage slows us down, usually to walking speed. At walking speed, daily presence has room to grow, because we are no longer moving faster than our souls can follow.
For leaders, choosing an intention is a small way of remembering that your life belongs to God before it belongs to anyone's calendar. That remembering becomes the ground in which daily presence can take root.
Today, before you open your inbox, take two quiet minutes to ask God what you are hoping for. Write down one short intention and carry it with you through the afternoon.
If you want a simple guide for making room to meet God, a free mini eBook called Unhurried Time with God is waiting on our resources page; find it here.
Why Slowing Down With God Makes Room for Honest Self-Reflection
Gem's second practice may feel uncomfortable at first: engage some self-reflection. At face value, self-reflection can sound selfish, especially to leaders who have spent years pouring themselves out for others. Gem suggests the opposite; self-reflection can be a pathway to love.
She points to the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:37-39. There, Jesus teaches us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Gem wonders whether those two words, "as ourselves," might be a big missing piece in how we love others well.
Most of us carry mountains of past experience. Gem invites us to engage this part of our story and do the work necessary to become unencumbered by past hurt. As God's love helps us love ourselves, our love for others grows purer, which makes self-reflection necessary soul work.
This is where slowing down with God becomes essential. On a spiritual pilgrimage, there are hours to let the mind wander and allow the Spirit to stir what lies beneath the surface. Slowing down with God creates that same space in an ordinary week, even if the walk is only around your block.
Gem also offers a posture from What Does Your Soul Love?, the book she co-wrote with her husband, Alan Fadling: become open, aware, and willing. Check in with yourself: are you open to what God might bring today, aware of what is happening within you, and willing to engage what rises?
Try slowing down with God on a fifteen-minute walk today, without your phone. As you walk, ask whether you are open, aware, and willing, and simply notice what surfaces without trying to fix it.
You do not have to sort through your story alone; a trained Soul Care Guide offering spiritual direction or formation coaching can walk with you, so connect here.
How Deepening Faith Through Presence Shapes an Ordinary Day
Gem's fourth invitation almost goes without saying: a spiritual pilgrimage can deepen your relationship with God. It is a focused time of remembering that God is with us and within us. Deepening faith through presence is not about collecting spiritual experiences or counting how many messages you receive.
Gem calls it pure and simple devotion. It sounds like saying, "Here I am, Lord; I give you myself, and I receive you as you offer yourself to me." Then we open our hands and let go, without trying to control what God does or does not do.
There is real beauty, grace, and peace in walking with a listening heart. Deepening faith through presence means receiving what God is actually giving rather than what we think we need.
The fifth practice follows naturally: cultivate presence. Gem admits that our driven culture constantly beats this invitation out of us. She often reminds listeners that grace is found only in the moment, and presence bears fruit with God, with others, and in our work.
Near the end of the episode, Gem shares a prayer for pilgrims written by Murray Bodo, a Franciscan friar and author. It opens with two lines that could reshape a leader's entire morning.
"I am not in control. I am not in a hurry."
The prayer goes on to describe walking in faith and hope, greeting everyone with peace, and bringing back only what God gives. Gem calls it a perfect stance for pilgrimage and an even greater posture for living a life. This is deepening faith through presence in its simplest form, and a quiet foundation for intentional living.
Each morning this week, say those opening lines aloud before your day begins. Let them become your intention, and notice how they soften the pace of your first hour.
Five Practices for Embracing Pilgrimage as a Way of Life
Gem summarizes her invitation in five practices you can carry into any season of intentional living.
- Set an Intention
The Invitation: Ask God what you want and what you are hoping for.
Try This: Write one short intention for today and return to it at midday.
- Engage Self-Reflection
The Invitation: Let honest reflection become a pathway to loving God and others.
Try This: Name one past hurt you are ready to bring before God.
- Become Open, Aware, and Willing
The Invitation: Check in with your body, mind, and soul.
Try This: Notice one thing rising within you and stay with it.
- Deepen Your Faith
The Invitation: Offer yourself to God and receive what God offers you.
Try This: Pray "Here I am, Lord" with open hands.
- Cultivate Presence
The Invitation: Remember that grace is found only in the moment.
Try This: Slow one routine task to walking speed.
None of these practices requires a trip abroad; each one simply asks you to walk a little slower with God today.
Wherever You Are Walking, You Do Not Walk Alone
Hurry convinces us that we are the only ones falling behind, quietly tired and unsure how to find God's pace again. You are not alone in that weariness, and you do not have to carry it in isolation. Unhurried Living is a fully digital ministry that walks with leaders and seekers in more than 145 nations, so wherever this spiritual pilgrimage finds you, fellow pilgrims are ready to welcome you.
Walking the Spiritual Pilgrimage of an Ordinary Day
Gem Fadling reminds us that our brief journey on earth is already a pilgrimage, and intentional living is simply the choice to walk it with an attentive heart. Setting an intention, reflecting honestly, staying open, deepening our faith, and cultivating presence turn an ordinary week into a spiritual pilgrimage. As Gem prays for her listeners, may this become a way of life for you as you make your way.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What does pilgrimage mean for everyday spiritual life?
A: Pilgrimage is traditionally a long journey or search of deep purpose, but Gem Fadling suggests it can also describe how we walk through ordinary days. Seen this way, each day becomes a slower, more attentive journey with God. You do not need to travel far to live with a pilgrim's heart.
Q: How can I slow down and practice presence with God?
A: Gem recommends moving at walking speed, both literally and spiritually. Setting aside time for prayer, journaling, worship, or an unhurried walk gives presence room to flourish. Remember that grace is found only in the present moment.
Q: How do I live with more intention and purpose daily?
A: Begin by asking God what you want and what you are hoping for, then let an intention rise from those desires. Write it down and return to it during the day. Gem also suggests praying a short pilgrim's prayer each morning as your intention.
Q: Is self-reflection selfish for a Christian?
A: Gem Fadling argues that self-reflection can be a pathway to love rather than self-absorption. In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and receiving God's love helps us love ourselves in a healthy way. As that relationship is refined, our love for others grows purer.
Q: What is the prayer for pilgrims Gem Fadling shares?
A: Gem shares a prayer written by Murray Bodo, a Franciscan friar and author, which opens by releasing control and hurry. It continues by describing walking in faith and hope, greeting others with peace, and bringing back only what God gives. Gem invites listeners to pray it aloud each morning for a week.
