I'm sort of a road trippin' expert. I mentioned yesterday all of the traveling I've already done this summer - and let's be honest, this has pretty much been my lifestyle for the last few years. I think I can trace it back to the summer of 2009, to be exact.
The scene: a theater in northeast Ohio, after watching the latest Harry Potter movie for a high school friend's birthday.
The problem: nobody waited for me to follow them to my friend's house for the rest of the party, like they were supposed to. Also, I had no cell phone at the time. Essentially, I was stranded.
I stood at a crossroads. Go home... or trek boldly forward into the unknown?
For this story to make sense, you have to know that I had just gotten back from a travel abroad semester in Austria; ergo, the spirit of adventure was still lingering in my soul. With chutzpah, I decided to attempt to find Lauren's house, even though I truly didn't know where I was going. But I had navigated Europe! In foreign languages! America was a piece of cake.
To this day, I'm not going to lie, I'm still very proud of myself. In short, I drove to the city where she lived, stopped at the least sketchy-looking gas station I could find and asked for directions to her street. I had been to her house once before, so I knew what it looked like, at the very least. Things got a little tricky when I got to the street and didn't recognize anything; but I discovered that it's one of those streets with multiple legs that zig-zag down other streets.
And, to everyone's surprise, I pulled into her driveway shortly thereafter... with a very satisfying feeling of personal accomplishment, I might add (if you haven't noticed).
So that was my first foray into the exciting world of independent navigation. I believe the second was getting myself into downtown Pittsburgh for a friend's court case (that's another story in itself; let me just say that she is pretty much a pro-life saint, was definitely unjustly accused, and a fabulous, elderly, Irish judge laughed her opponent out of court with some awesome common sense). I believe that was my first time in the exciting world of city parking garages...
I could go on and on. Basically, since getting my taste of freely traveling to and fro, I've never been the same. I love the feeling of actually going somewhere... almost as much as I love the feeling of finally getting somewhere. In this crazy world (do I sound like I'm from the pioneer times yet?), most of my friends don't live anywhere near me, and it's such a joy to be able to solve this problem by simply hopping in my car and investing some time (and gas money... eek). At this point in my life and vocational discernment, traveling is still very much an option - so carpe highway!
Unfortunately, it's much too easy to spend half the day in the car and realize that all I've done is listen to the same 5 songs on the radio, over... and over... and over... and over. For hours. So I've come up with a list of ways to make your road trips (or even your 20 minute drives!) actually help you become the person God created you to be!
(This is quite a lot of build-up for what I'm actually going to be telling you... sorry about that.)
1. Turn off the radio and be silent.
This can be unbelievably difficult, even for those of us who really like Jesus and prayer time. Over one five-day stretch this summer, I actually spent 30+ hours in the car... and probably took about 1 hour of that to be quiet. The rest was spent listening to the radio, on the phone, etc. But car time, like shower time, is prime prayer time. So just do it.
2. Listen to a Fr. Mike Schmitz homily!
Getting a bit stir-crazy from the silence, but still want something good for your soul? Download some homilies from Fr. Mike Schmitz (they're all free podcasts on iTunes!) to listen to on the way! Alternately, you could listen to a Lighthouse CD talk, or a spiritual classic that has been read aloud and recorded (again, check iTunes, or YouTube, or your local library).
3. Actually take that rosary off of your rear view mirror and pray it!
It ain't just a cool Catholic accessory. If you're going to sport it, you better actually use it sometimes. To be honest, I've only recently come to that conviction. And believe me... even if you have to force yourself to get started, you'll never regret the time you spent on it afterwards.
4. Pray for people who are stranded on the side of the road.
Another variation on this: pray for the other people who are driving around you, and for those in the cities you're passing by. They'll never know you did it... but it's going to make a great story-time in heaven!
5. Take advantage of your rest stops!
Yes, please use the bathroom and get snacks. But what I really mean by this is that you should always be ready for an evangelization moment! Not in a weird way - just be nice and friendly to the cashier, willing to chat with the people around you, smile, and try not to look like death and act like a grumpy ogre. You never know who you're going to meet and the kind of conversations that others will strike up with you! (I'm friends with the types of people who will pray over random strangers in parking lots, if the opportunity strikes... believe me, it happens!).
6. Appreciate the beauty!
If you're driving through somewhere naturally beautiful, soak it up! And thank Jesus for it, too. We could all be more sensitive to and appreciative of beauty. It's healing (as I wrote about here).
7. Praise and worship music.
Because nothing says "I'm dedicating this road trip to you, Jesus" like surrendering your heart to him while singing "Great I Am" at the top of your lungs. Plus, no one can hear you or judge you! (Safety tip: do not close your eyes in prayer, raise both hands in the air, or rest in the Spirit. Just don't do it... the Holy Spirit is not calling you to that, I promise.)
And there you have it! 7 tips for a holy car ride. It's basically Catholic common sense, but sometimes we need to hear it, right?
I'm headed off on another one of these trips over the next few days, so I'll probably retreat from the blogosphere again for a bit. Just an FYI. Cheerio!
(Apparently I get really chatty when I haven't blogged in two months... I'll try for some shorter posts soon!)
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