"Go Sit Under The Golden Gate Bridge"

"Go sit under the Golden Gate Bridge on July 6th."

I had heard these words quite a few times in March, April, May, maybe even June. At this stage in my development, I wasn't ready to trust what I was hearing and follow such seemingly preposterous guidance. After all, I was the minister at a Unity church in Virginia, practically 3,000 miles distant, hearing guidance in specific words and clear sentences was new to me, and I still hadn't abandoned the habit of preferring logical reasons for acting.

In retrospect, I can imagine angels saying, "That's alright. We'll find a way to get him out to California." It turns out during those four months a new acquaintance showed up in my life who gave me some literature regarding a spiritual movement which was gaining momentum in Marin County north of San Francisco, and I started feeling very attracted to the idea of visiting with the spiritual teacher and people involved. Forgetting about the bridge guidance, but enthused about meeting the spiritual group, I booked a flight and flew to the west coast for a vacation trip in early July.

It didn't take me long, one social call, to realize this particular spiritual group was not for me after all. False alarm, so to speak.  And I found myself sitting with no further plans in a little motel room a few miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge on the night of July 5th. That's when I remembered the original guidance. I imagine I said to myself something like: "Why not?"

Please forgive me if you think I was crazy, but I spent the entire next day sitting, standing, and pacing under the Golden Gate Bridge. Hour after hour went by. Nothing happened. No angels or anyone else appearing. No submarine surfacing. Nothing. Oh well!

Now it gets interesting. By this time it's early evening, I'm ready to give up under the bridge, and suddenly the thought popped into my mind to phone the San Francisco Unity church on the off chance that the minister might still be there (it was Sunday). I seem to remember reaching the minister just as she was about to leave on a trip, but she gave me the phone number of a couple who had only just received a letter of acceptance into the Unity ministerial school. When I phoned them, they were eager to have me come visit them.

It turns out this couple was beyond apprehensive, more like freaking out, about uprooting their lives, relocating half way across the country, and maybe not even making it through the ministerial program which they imagined to be an extremely challenging curriculum. I stayed with them for a couple days, answering questions, offering advice, and generally helping them release fears and establish confidence. They were extremely grateful.

About the time this couple was once again solidly grounded with thoughts of a bright future, they received a phone call from a previous acquaintance, a young man who had entered the ministerial program two years ago, was now a brand new graduate, and was about to assume control of the Unity church in Richmond, California, across the bay.  Like the first couple, this rookie minister and his wife were feeling pretty shaky. What would they face leading a church in a rough and tumble city? Would they be up to the challenge?

Perhaps like a modern-day midwife whose beeper goes off, I said my goodbyes to the first couple, started up my rental car, and drove across the Bay Bridge to Richmond. Now I spent a couple days with this second couple, discussing my own experiences as a minister, giving counsel, guidance, and suggestions, and assuring them they would do a great job. This second couple progressed from worry to great relief to enthusiastic excitement about new possibilities, and they also expressed to me happy gratitude.

Over several days I had served two couples in a very meaningful way ... and they in turn were destined to help many in the service of God. So that's the reason I had been told to go sit under the Golden Gate Bridge on July 6th, right?

Turns out that wasn't even the half of it. There were still days remaining on my vacation with much more to come ... which is yet another story.