If you could go anywhere, where would you go?

If you could do anything, what would you do?

If you had a dream, would it require a miracle for it to come true?

Assume for a moment that you answered “yes” to at least one of these questions. What if the dream could come true during a pilgrimage where you asked God for healing for the biggest miracle yet?

Behold a site that traditionally requires a long walk, but you can choose how long you want that walk to last. You can travel on foot from the local hacienda – or from as far as two major cities. The foothills of God’s glory will welcome you without judgment.

My husband, my mother and I made that journey over the summer to Chimayo, New Mexico. Tucked in the mountains west of Sante Fe, El Santuario de Chimayo welcomes pilgrims from all walks of life. Throngs of them gather on Good Friday. While everyone seeks something different, they all appear to have the desired result of a miracle or answered prayer. While we had a specific miracle in mind, my husband and I approached this opportunity with open eyes and open hearts. We would accept what God provided for us.

Three distinct cultures meet in this area: White cowboy, Spanish colonizer, and Native American pueblo.  Whether folklore or tradition, they all have a common interest at El Santuario. Even with faith the size of a grain of sand, people come to Chimayo to heal through perpetual dirt. They believe the dirt in the ground at El Santuario represents the healing power of God. A small side chapel has a hole in the ground where pilgrims collect that dirt, pray for intercessions, and beg for healing. Any dirt taken from that spot gets replaced in the morning.  The hole looks like no one ever touched it.

On my own, I have not found much faith-based or scientific research as to how El Santuario evolved into a pilgrimage site of world renown for Catholics. By contrast, a documentary featuring Zac Efron explains the faith and science behind miraculous healing of those who drink and bathe in Lourdes water. Bathing where Saint Bernadette had seen visions of Mary while asking for healing simply scratches the surface.

After visiting both places now, I believe you should go back when the spirit rushes through you like water.

Getting back to El Santuario de Chimayo, the lore and legend surrounding the site itself can feel like a big help or a hindrance – or both simultaneously. The Spanish colonizers in this area of New Mexico encountered a group of Tewa pueblos who lived there. The legend of the dirt here resembles a story of “holy dirt” in Guatemala. One account claims that a priest from Los Hermanos de la Fraternidad Piadosa de Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno (a.k.a. “Los Penitentes”) saw a light shining from a hilltop and ultimately found a crucifix of the Black Christ of Esquipulas. He and his brother had moved that crucifix multiple times, but it somehow wandered back to its original spot. This allegedly caused the family to create the chapel in that location.

My mother had heard of El Santuario through a coworker who grew up in the area with a high-profile family friend. Patricia Trujillo Oviedo served as a seventh-generation descendant of original settlers to Chimayo. Her husband Marco had just passed, but not before sharing his ability to sculpt bronze and carve wood effortlessly. Pat gave us a personal tour of her husband's gallery while helping us understand that a pilgrimage doesn’t have to happen during Holy Week. It also doesn’t need parameters. You go how far and how long you want to go when you want to go. As long as you have faith, God will answer your prayer.

Pat said she wanted to make sure that people knew the story of her family's heritage in the area, but she also wanted them to know the importance of having faith – even a small dose of it. Coming to El Santuario with just a mustard seed had the power to grant you a miracle.

Some people visit sites on pilgrimage not just for educational value or the miraculous things that can happen afterward. They visit a site when they each have a certain prayer in mind, hoping that one singular thing comes to them. As I recently spoke with a new coworker, it came up that similar things happen at other pilgrimage sites worldwide. Some people go to a pilgrimage site with hopes or mental demands of God that a miracle can happen while on site or when they come home as justification for their faith to exist. My colleague spoke about how people can go to sites like Lourdes and Medjugorje and Chimayo . . . and make a demand contrary to the will of God.

No, I'm not saying that everyone does that, but some people unfortunately do. This puts a limit on God – our Alpha and Omega. Yes, you can quote Lindsay Lohan from “Mean Girls” and say the limit doesn’t exist because God doesn’t ask you to prove your faith by visiting these sites. You exercise your faith by visiting these sites, just as you exercise your rights to live as a product of His Creation.

Do not put your God in a box. He has not put you in one. Whether you have faith as small as a mustard seed or as large as a bush that grows like the vine that bears great fruit, God knows your faith depends on the relationship that you choose to have with Him.

During her show last week on The Catholic Channel on SiriusXM, Katie McGrady spoke of tennis player Coco Gauff and interview after she won the U.S. Open. Gauff said she didn’t pray for results, but she prayed for the strength to give her all. Whatever happens . . . happens, she said. Additionally, Gauff expressed how blessed she was to “live this life” and feel thankful “for this moment.” I think that’s a really great way to be a witness, especially to our faith and something else that other people either don’t see as you see – or simply see as just dirt. Whether you exhibit God’s grace in a quiet voice or a miraculous healing, feel grateful for the faith that will lead you.