SACRED SPACE

It’s our last day today. I got up early to watch the sun rise over the sea.

Yesterday was a bit more of a relaxing day in the end; my favourite bit was sitting on the beach watching the waves. They were huge.

Okay, not huge by surfing standards but big enough to really crash and pound the sand. I really like the way a wave rolls, parallel to shore. It curls over and clutches the shore like hands grasping for stones, then collapsing into a line of foam and spray.

We were there for a while with our tea and our ice creams. It wasn’t hot, but it was pleasant enough in winter coats. This might just be the best time of year for introverts to be at the beach - all the joy we’d get from the summer, but also, hardly anyone there, and additionally, the full drama of the choppy autumn ocean.

It’s certainly been a good time for artists! The light has been phenomenal, as though golden hour has somehow lasted all week - topped off this morning by one glorious sunrise! As I walked down the chilly lane to the sea, I was taken aback by the pink and orange sky twinkling between the houses.

It’s tough in the social media age to have sacred spaces. You find one; the instinct is to post it on instagram. You encounter God in a moment of wonder, then it’s on flumpbook. It never looks quite the same on there. It’s as if pieces of it are divided for consumption - like cake.

That’s why I can’t tell you how sacred my time on the beach was this morning. I can’t post the pictures (though they are incredible) and I can’t even begin to describe the love I felt overlapping heaven and earth. But there it was.

We’re on the way home now. The sunset of seaside fish and chips faded out of orange and blue to become first, deep purple, then ink black, along with red tail lights and the white lines on the road.

So how was it? We really enjoyed it. It was relaxing and fun. We had our moments of discovery and our moments of anxiety, yes, but on the whole we found a great place in a beautiful light, under a huge, hopeful sky.