Category: St. Ignace

Renew: Restore to Freshness or Vigor

 
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10 NKJV
 
 
 

 The Intuition Diaries

At about the midpoint of our trip around Lake Michigan, we spent a couple days in St. Ignace. We had been travelling seven days non-stop from port to port. It seemed like time to regroup.  So we spent an afternoon, a whole day and a morning in St. Ignace. Our choice to stay in this small town across from Mackinac Island was purposeful. We wanted a slower pace.

 

Our first morning in St. Ignace, we lingered over a pancake, bacon and egg breakfast prepared on our galley stove.  After breakfast, we pulled the bikes off the top of the boat to explore the town.  We were looking for a historic site, where Father Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit priest, founded a mission in the early 1600s.   It was strange, I knew his name from the state park over in Illinois, but I felt like I knew him from my childhood. When I read one of the plaques at his memorial site, I remembered doing a report on Jolliet and Marquette, the explorers. Now as an adult I was putting the historical and spiritual pieces together.
 
 
It also made me happy to know that Marquette was a member of the Jesuit order founded by St. Ignatius, my newest spiritual mentor. (I’m reading An Ignatian Adventure by Fr. Kevin O’ Brien). In my ever deepening quest to learn more about the early church fathers, I am planning to study the Spiritual Exercises that St. Ignatius developed as part of his devotion to Jesus.

 

We rode our bikes to a park that overlooked the lake and the Mackinac Bridge. At the Marquette memorial, we recalled that he and Jolliet were the first Europeans to map the Mississippi River and explore the surrounding land. They left from St. Ignace, following the Fox River from Green Bay and eventually came to the Mississippi.

 

As we studied the map on the floor of the memorial site, we noted that we were visiting on the same date that Marquette and Jolliet turned back  for St. Ignace. (They stopped near the Arkansas River on July 17, 1673).  I had Les stand on the map to show where we usually put our boat in the Mississippi River in St. Charles County.

 

After this serendipitous discovery, we returned to the boat. We had the whole day ahead of us, so what would we do?
 
Clean the boat!

Insect guts were clinging to the outside; dirt and sand were accumulating in the back. So we hauled everything off the back. Les scrubbed. I sprayed with the hose. We felt invigorated and refreshed. It felt good to have everything clean and stowed away in an orderly fashion again. Living on a boat inspires simple living.

 

 

Chores took less time. We were eating fresh produce from the farmer’s market. Instead of collecting souvenirs, we were gathering memories. While on this vacation, I wanted to clean. I wanted to buy carrots to peel and cut up, rather than buy the prepackaged baby carrots. It’s amazing to me how a mundane task can clear your mind and invigorate your soul.

 

 
While peeling carrots, I had more time to ponder life.  On vacation, I set aside time to read and to contemplate.  As we returned home, I hoped this time of renewal would spill over into our daily life and work a day week.

 

Renew in me a steadfast (firmly fixed on Jesus) spirit way of living, O LORD!
 
 
 

 
Posted on by kelrohlf 1

Accept: Recognize Something as True

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
 
James 1:16, 17
 
Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess You have given me: I surrender it
all to You to be disposed of according to Your will. Give me only Your love and Your grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will desire nothing more.

St. Ignatius of Loyola

 

The Intuition Diaries

During every vacation there comes a point, when you have to recognize something as true. As we listened to the weather report on Saturday evening, we had to face a hard truth.  The winds were going to be picking up. We would be facing 5-8 ft waves in a couple days. We had a decision to make; we could stick with our plan to stop at a couple more places along the Upper Peninsula or outrun the wind. We went to bed knowing, we had to pass up the extra stops.

After we left Escanaba, the first twenty miles were smooth sailing. And then the lake got a bit choppy, so I put on my earphones and listened to music while sitting on the back of the boat. I put my feet up on the side and watched the waves sail by. We were headed east and the sun was behind some clouds, but still shining through. The water looked like molten metal. I had never seen anything like it.


As we approached our destination, we had another decision to make: to drop anchor or go to a marina. As most couples do, we came to our conclusion smoothly, about as smooth as riding over those choppy waves all day.

Once we figured out what we both wanted, we decided to anchor out. Sometimes when faced with a decision, it’s best to choose acceptance of what you don’t understand (I’m referring to myself here). I get nervous in new situations, so I wanted to go to the marina (familiar choice), but anchoring out was the best choice. We swam off the boat and  enjoyed the sunset together.

In the St. James harbor, we were anchored with about 11 other boats, mostly sailboats. When the wind shifted all the boats would glide in unison to the same point without bumping into each other. One of the boats was named, Acceptance.
 
 

Sometimes I accept God’s gifts freely. But other times, I get deceived. I start thinking I deserve certain gifts, like cooler weather or having my own way. It is hard to admit, but sometimes I start rejecting the gifts from above or worse I resent them because they’re not exactly what I wanted. I know that sounds really immature, but it’s true.

After spending the night in St. James harbor, we embarked on the  next leg of the journey that would lead us to St. Ignace, a small town across the way from Mackinaw Island under the majestic Mackinac Bridge. Calm waters accompanied us.
 
 

Once we made it to safe harbor, we checked the weather report. We successfully outran the winds. The waves were already at 4ft in the section we passed through earlier. Thankfully, we willingly received God’s wisdom to let go of one thing, so that we could enjoy another.



Posted on by kelrohlf 3