My annual pilgrimage to the Santuario de Chimayo is now complete. I made the 22 mile trek on Holy Thursday. I spent Good Friday recovering and now that I am back to normal, I am able to process the trip. While I can’t put into words my experience, I can say that I underwent a cleansing. My spirit shifted and while the mundane day-to-day tasks will remain the same, the energy with which I approach them has changed.

I experienced guardian angels throughout the evening. In faith, I only brought one water bottle with me. When my wife saw the solitary water bottle, she asked, “Are you sure that will be enough?” And although there was a hint of doubt in my mind, my heart knew that God would provide.

“I’m sure,” was all I said.

Turned out, I was right. From Officer Cruz to the Santa Fe Fiesta Council, to random strangers, angels were all around and provided, not only water, but granola bars, bananas, apples, and coffee, once the cold wind blew through the valley. Whether they know it or not, every single gesture of kindness towards the pilgrims reflected God’s light and in experiencing that light, I learned that God flows in all things, even the mundane.

What I simply can’t share is the sunset that washed over the Chimayo valley that evening. The orange glow provided a glimpse into Heaven for which there are no words. A few pilgrims snap pictures with their phones, but I have no doubt that those pictures will not have captured the magnitude of what we saw. I felt nothing but gratitude in that moment and something inside of me shifted. I can’t explain it, but I felt differently.

When I walked into the historic church, my legs were sore and my ankles hurt. But I wasn’t in any pain. I was certain that my pilgrimage immersed me into all that is good and strong and beautiful. Although I was tired and sleepy, I also felt at home in the universe. Without the guardian angels, my water bottle wouldn’t have been enough and I would’ve dehydrated. But the angels carried me and my soul knows that Northern New Mexico is and will always be, home.