St. Patrick and The Highwaymen
“I was a highwayman, along the coach roads I did ride”
The whole family is together in Philly for the first time in nearly 6 weeks. There is a story behind this that made it happen, there were helpers, angels, saints, obstacles. This is that story.
St Patrick + Lucas
If you have been following this blog then you know that Lucas loves the Celtics, and thinks that the SNL “more cowbell” skit is the most hilarious thing in the world. His middle name is Patrick. We went to St. Patricks chapel the other day close to Rittenhouse Square and said prayers together, just me , Lucas and Erin. I took Lucas on a tour afterwards and showed him all the statues of the Saints, etc. The last one was St. Patrick. Not only did he have a piece of clover in his hand, he also had a cowbell at his feet.
Johnny Cash and “Thin Places”
Several years ago a friend shared that there was what the Celtic tradition refers to as a “thin place”, right next to the lot that Johnny Cash had on the lake in Hendersonville, TN, around 20 minutes outside of Nashville. Thin places are places where you feel closest to spirit, there is a small veil between you and God. The friend was affiliated with the Cash estate, and when I drove through Cincinnati a few weeks ago I texted him to see if I could visit the site and pray for Lucas, but the timing wasn’t right.
Hey Siri, whats half way between Philadelphia, PA and Austin, TX?
Last week the Farrell’s, a couple from Austin, very generously offered to fly our kids up to Philly with their family on their way to Boston. Due to some concerns around covid by our doctor due to Lucas immunodeficiency, we had to make a difficult decision to cancel the flight. Which left one option, which was to ask Siri “Siri, whats half way between Austin and Philly?” I asked her. “The mid-point between Philadelphia and Austin is Nashville, TN”
Angels, helpers, Saints and musicians
Lucas really was looking forward to seeing his bro and sis. So were we. After almost 6 weeks not seeing Jack, I have realized how hard it is to parent a confused boy, age 9 from long distance. As Robert Earl Keen said , “ can’t love nobody on the telephone.”
David Odom let us use a bunch of his Hilton points for this leg of the journey, thank you DO.
Called my parents and they agreed to drive Lucas and Dylan to Nashville (12 hour drive) while I drove down to Nashville in my truck which thankfully I kept here and didn’t send back to Austin. But I didn’t plug Nashville into the GPS as my first stop, I plugged in the thin place.
With the owners permission, I jumped this fence. And entered the orchard, to find a Celtic Cross and 100s of birds flying around everywhere, different species of birds, energy. It was cold and rainy, there weren’t spots to park but I figured out a way to jimmy my truck in a small area and turn on my hazards.
I prayed for around 30 minutes. Erin loves Cardinals, they are her favorite bird. I saw one down by the trees overlooking the lake. The energy of these birds flying around felt like Heaven, seriously, it was super powerful, they were everywhere. I looked down and found myself, getting rained on, cold, standing in a field of clover.
Family together and Prayers
When we got back to Philly late last night it felt surreal. The drive with Dylan and Jack was 12.5 hours. They were awesome travelers for me, and they were also great the day before for my parents. Those kids drove 25 hours in 2 days to see their brother, Lucas. To be together this week, Thanksgiving. Its not just Thanksgiving though, its honestly something more than that. Its all these people that make this happen, including the AKA University city people Evan O’Donnell, Larry Korman and his father. They paid for this week for us to have a beautiful flat overlooking the city so that we can have more beds than our small, beautiful house in Fitler Square that the Massey family is renting to us at a very generous rate.
The power of prayer and music
At every corner, every obstacle we have faced to get the kids up here, God has provided for us. The angel flight, its cancellation, my parents driving the kids up safely, the Hilton points, the refuge/ sanctuary of one of my favorite musicians of all time that was gifted to me as a safe place to pray, the apartment, the house, everything.
We pray that this week is fun, and fills Lucas cup with abundance and hope God. We thank you for your guidance in every step of this journey.
Sunrise the morning we connected in Nashville
