The Sacred Pier

I asked my husband of three years to meet me for lunch in the place where our souls feel free, the place we walk together several times a week, the place where I stand and watch him surf, the place where I feel closest to God, life and who I am, the longest pier on the west coast, the Ocean Beach Pier in San Diego. I brought his favorite meatball sandwich and we sat on the bench overlooking the surf. I knew that for our conversation, this was the only place to meet, the place where I feel the most spiritually centered.

With the waves roaring below us, I began to unwrap our sandwiches. He looked at me and said, “I can’t stand the suspense. What did the doctor say?” With tears in my eyes and a shaky voice, my words came out softly, “We’re going to have a baby.” We held each other, looked at each other with shock and awe and held each other again. The unplanned blessing for two young college students shifted our lives forever. Being in our place of spiritual connectedness, with the smell of the fresh sea air, sitting on our special bench and the blue sky above us anchored this life-changing moment in our hearts.

Within a short time, I was strolling our son down the pier as we watched his daddy surf below. Before too long, we were a family of four laughing, dashing around and chasing our boys as they excitedly ran the almost 2,000 feet to the end of the pier. This now wasn’t just a place of spiritual mindfulness for me, but became our family’s sacred place. As the years past, we walked, prayed, talked, laughed, sat on the pier bench and surveyed the powerful ocean eclipsing below our sightline.

Life has changed through the decades; but as I walk out my front door, stand on my deck, breathe in deeply and gaze at the vast pier, my mind goes back to all the memories made in my sacred place. It’s the place that holds my tears, joys, love, thoughts, and quiet moments with God. Now, we are creating new spiritual experiences in old ways as my husband and I go hand in hand with our grandchildren walking, talking, praying, and contemplating the great questions of life on the Ocean Beach Pier.