Road Trip with Jesus: Part 1

When I plan a weekend getaway with Jesus, sometimes I get to call the shots on what we’re doing.

Sometimes Lordship calls the shots.

My latest three-day adventure was the latter.

To define “a weekend getaway with Jesus”: It’s not as formal and structured as a proper retreat. It can even be kind of touristy. But mostly it’s about getting away from day-to-day life, setting the schedule based on when a nearby church has Mass and/or Adoration, and hopefully catching up on some reading. Will anything truly extraordinary happen? Almost certainly not. Will there be unexpected little God moments that make me pause? Almost certainly yes.

From time to time I get the craving to see big water. Usually that means going up somewhere along the Lake Michigan shoreline, but for this getaway I decided to try something different and looked along Lake Huron. Good: I found a nice little cottage on Airbnb that met my small-budget expectations. Better: It was smack dab in the middle between two towns that each had a Catholic church. Best: One of those churches had an Adoration hour the evening I would be rolling in.

The drive up was delightfully uneventful. You don’t understand how much of a success it was that I didn’t get hopelessly lost even with GPS. Upon arrival there was a bit of a snafu checking in to my cottage (the door was supposed to be unlocked — spoiler alert: it was locked), but I was able to sit in the shade and enjoy the breeze for 45 minutes.

The delay didn’t torpedo my Adoration plans, Deo gratias, but when I got to the church with just a few minutes to spare, I saw there was only one car in the parking lot. That made me wonder. I hustled inside the church, and to my surprise I saw a handful of light blue veils and dark blue habits dotting the pews.

I had intended to go to Adoration. I had not intended to crash a religious order’s holy hour! Everything is grace.

The Sisters of Our Mother of Divine Grace were established in 2010 in the Diocese of Saginaw and serve parishes in the “thumb” of Michigan.

Turns out, their evening holy hour is open to the public.

Turns out, not a lot of laity show up.

Turns out, when you’re the new kid who scurries in unexpectedly, a sister carrying a tray of plastic tiaras and flower crowns will follow you through the pews while you find a seat and ask if you would like to crown the statue of our Lady during the Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin Mary chaplet. I stammered, “Uh… OK.”

Brilliant words, I know, but I had been traveling all day and this sudden turn of events was a lot to process. I thought I would walk in, sit down and simply adore and unwind from the journey.

Lordship had a good chuckle at that, I’m sure.

But all was well. I crowned our Lady at the appropriate time, thanked the Lord for safety on the road and the mini adventures that had already happened, and joined the sisters in praying Evening Prayer and Compline to wrap up the hour. Praying the Divine Office in community is a treasure, and I had not expected to do so in this small town on the shores of Lake Huron.

Everything is grace.