Yesterday in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, Ireland I went on a walk to find the marker at Sentry Hill. Sentry Hill is where the lookout would stand to watch for the British “Redcoats” while others attended Catholic Mass in secret in a secret location. If the sentry saw a Redcoat coming they could signal to other lookouts and everyone at mass could disperse in time. (Learn more here: https://www.letterkennyhistory.com/the-mass-rock-early-churches/)
I wondered where the mass rock was, but I didn’t think to look it up until I was back at my airbnb and it was about to get dark. But I found the information and planned today’s adventure to the mass rock. (When I say ‘adventure’ I should probably note that it was only 2.5km away and I could take sidewalks to get there… so it didn’t require much ‘adventuring’ until the trail thru the woods, across a narrow single wooden plank plank bridge, and across a small field.)
My goal was to see the mass rock and experience the place. I also had a goal of finding a 4 leaf clover. The 4 leaf clover goal was top of mind and my complete focus (more on this later).
The mass rock was just 0.1 miles away from the road down a path thru a small woods and across a small stream. But man was I transported worlds away! My mass rock experience was surreal!
I climbed the few steps up to the mass rock. And, yes, it did feel wrong being on/at the altar. There was a second rock there, too. Presumably for the priest to sit on.
As soon as I reached the mass rock a soft rain started falling and I looked up and there was a rainbow! And not only that, it was a double rainbow!! I stood in awe… well I stood and was like “get pictures! get videos! this is amazing!” and so I stood in awe-action. (see above)
And as if that wasn’t enough I could actually see the end of the rainbow!!! No one ever gets to see the end of the rainbow. But sure enough I could see it all the way down until it hit a tuft of ground in the small field where the congregation would have gathered during the mass rock times (17th and 18th centuries).
I immediately was like “I have to look for a 4 leaf clover there! Surely there has to be one where the rainbow was!” …which was a small tuft of brown grass to the right of the larger tuft of brown. (Though in looking at this image now maybe it was on the little path? I dunno, but when looking with my own eyes that is where I didn’t see it anymore.)
After the rainbow ended I went down to the patch and started looking around. Now I’ve been finding these fields in Ireland are oddly clover-free. It’s not like clover is everywhere. Sometimes you have to find a patch. Well there were a few and I started looking. The other day I found what I’m calling a “faux leaf clover” because while it looked like a four leaf clover I don’t think it was — there’s some odd plant that grows with/near the clover that I wouldn’t call a clover, or at least not what I think of one as. And wouldn’t you know there was a faux-leaf clover! I was gonna leave it be but then it essentially popped itself off and into my hand as I was trying to figure out if it was “four real or faux real”. It does have 4 leaves. It was with clover. … Is it one?
It sure looks like a 4 leaf clover – even if it is very very small.. But I wasn’t content with that. It didn’t check the right “This is definitely a four leaf clover” box. So I kept looking.
In my head I asked God to guide me to a 4 leaf clover or wherever I was supposed to go. I’m not good at listening and it seemed a silly request since all I really wanted for God to give me was a 4 leaf clover, but I got onto the little lightly trampled path and followed it to the small woods. There looked to be a small path in the woods so I followed that and by the stream there was a small patch of clover. But not the field clover I usually find my 4 leaf clovers in, the fancy clover that doesn’t ever seem to give me four leaf clovers. (Yes there seems to be certain types of clover more prone to producing 4 leaves than others… but that is where my clover knowledge stops –kind of a “know it when you see it” knowledge.)
I started walking along very very slowly looking at all the small clover patches. Because surely there had to be a 4 leaf clover in there somewhere, right?
I started seeing 2 leaf clovers.
There were too many 2 leaf clovers to count. Enough to be certain they had grown that way and a leaf didn’t just happen to pop off. I was still yearning for that 4 leaf clover to show itself, but I was getting such enjoyment from finding the 2 leaf ones! They were so numerous! I started recording a few little videos to show where some were – because who was gonna believe someone who finds a 2 leaf clover? Anyone can find that-provided they do a little leaf adjustment to a 3 leaf clover.
I kept looking for 4 and finding 2. But then an Irish robin came near in front of me . And then it came near again and really chirped a lot at me (about 5 feet away). It felt like it was trying to tell me something. So much so that I actually said outloud, “I’m sorry I don’t speak robin.” The bird then moved to a branch to my right for a little bit. …I’m sure it was interested because I was messing with leaves and dirt which could help it to locate bugs. But with so many robins coming near me on this trip I am a bit suspicious.
Sidenote: At some point into my time there I wondered “I’m not surpised why people are so superstitious. I wonder how long it would take me to be superstitiuous about things in an Irish way.” And the answer appears to be 2.5 hours.
I kept along the thin path and a small offshoot went up a steep, slippery slope so I went up and found a small field. And lo and behold “normal” clover – yay! Even teeny tiny clover, the smallest I’ve ever seen (wee bitty baby clover). A patch of purple and green clover that ended up with a trick leaf clover in it (that’s one that looks like a 4 but is really 2 different clover snuggling together). I was happy. My fingers were a touch freezing touching all of the wet clovers, but I knew it would be worth it once I found one.
Though then I got to thinking… If I knew there was a 4 leaf clover in the patch I would search one by one until I found it. But as it was I could only search with the hope of there being one. It’s somewhat akin to walking by faith and not sight.
I didn’t find one. I went back down to the small path. A few more patches of the other type of clover and some 2 leafers, but still no 4.
It actually had me theorizing about them. Perhaps these ones near the Baile Mhic Comhghail mass rock in Rodger’s Burn (or Rogers Burn) are a special sort of clover. …It was notable that the field where the congregation would gather didn’t have many clover, but up along the trees near their trunks and roots there were many small patches with so many naturally having only two leaves.
My theory is that these clover are the ones that give their 3rd leaf to the 4 leaf clovers. The 4 leaf clovers have to get their extra leaves from somewhere and I stumbled upon the magical place where the clovers grow with two leaves instead of three. (Hence the folklorey-superstitiousness my experience drove me towards).
The little path ended back at the mass rock. And no joke, it started to rain a little, and a rainbow appeared. That’s right – another rainbow!!
I went back down into the field and kept looking for 4 leaf clovers. Because surely of all days and places this would be the place to find one, right???
But as I kept searching I felt content. I felt like I didn’t need to find one. Sure, I wanted to find one. I kept looking and looking and looking trying to find one. But I realized I could be content without one. …though that too didn’t stop me from looking.
I did remember to pause and say a few actual prayers at this point so that my trip to the mass rock wasn’t all hyper-focused on 4 leaf clovers.
I kept delaying leaving and looking in little clover patches, trying with “one more attempt” each time.
But in my heart I knew it was rather fitting that I didn’t find one.
Because what did God give me in my day?
It wasn’t what I thought I wanted. That is, I thought I wanted a four leaf clover and so was doing everything around that goal. BUT I didn’t get what I wanted. It wasn’t anything I expected. Because I mainlky expected to find a four leaf clover. BUT it was everything I actually needed.
It was time alone in a quiet holy place, in nature, just looking repeatedly at God’s creation. Sure, I was really honing in on one thing in His creation – but He helped me to see what was there and not just what I wanted to be there. I did notice all those 2 leaf clovers. He practically shoved those in my face over and over until I came up with a lovely Irish folklorey-theory about them. He kept nudging me to adjust my expectations — that I would not find the desired 4 leaf clover and on top of that it wouldn’t bother me because He was giving me so much more! I kind of knew I needed to stop looking for the 4 leaf clovers, but I just couldn’t not look -always hoping I was getting the messages wrong.
It was a wild time. I am so glad I went. I am so glad I slowed down and spent waaaaayyy too long looking at clover. Because I got to be in a very special place for as long as I wanted to be there and do everything I wanted to do. In the end God provided me not only with what I truly wanted, but a deeper, more meaningful experience of giving me everything I truly needed.
I know when I tell this magical story to others they will probably not believe me or read into all the things in the way that I did/do. But even if they don’t believe me I know that whatever this day ended up being it was exactly the way it was meant to be — four leaf clover or not.
PS. Since I found that one possible four leaf clover in the mass rock field at the bottom of a rainbow I guess I will be amending my own magical story to definitely calling it a definite four leaf clover. That’s okay, right?… Maybe that bird was trying to tell me to stop being an idiot and searching when I already had one!!! Maybe it was saying “Perhaps you are never content with getting everything you want because it isn’t what you actually need!” Good points, robin. Thank you. Yes indeed. Thanks God for this day and reminding me that what I actually need is whatever it is that you wish to give to me.
