An Easter Love Story
By Pat K.
Sunday, March 31, 2002
For the first time in my life (that I can remember) I didn’t go to church on Easter Sunday. The thought of getting dressed up depressed me. When I awoke that morning I had a sudden thought - to go to the beach for my own private worship.
I arrived at Leo Carrillo Beach before 9:00 a.m. It was a gloomy day, heavily overcast and chilly, but I didn’t care. I was glad to be at the beach again.
I’d walked about ½ mile south along the mostly deserted beach when I saw a large driftwood log. I sat down on it and started to pray, thanking God again for my new granddaughter, Mekenna Rose, for all my grandchildren, my children and the rest of my family and friends. Then I prayed for God’s Love and the Christ Spirit to enter my heart.
As I often do when I pray, I felt sudden joy and knew that God’s Spirit was indeed there. It was a love fest, just the two of us.
After awhile I felt as if God was smiling and telling me, “Go for a walk, my child. Take a break. Have fun.”
So I did. I walked for at least a mile before stopping to look for rocks. I was bent down looking when I suddenly felt a familiar presence. It was the same feeling that I used to get when Bert and I went to the beach and I would go off on a rock search. I’d be searching diligently, looking through piles of beach stones when all of the sudden I would feel his presence, turn my head, and see him standing there watching me.
It was the same this time. I felt him there, but of course I couldn’t see him.
I said to him (in my head), “Honey, you came.”
He said, “Yes, I’m here. Do you mind if I walk with you?”
I said, “Of course not. It makes me so happy to have you here.”
We walked along for a while and then I stopped to look for more stones. He said, “What exactly are we looking for?”
I said, “Oh, you know, mostly surf-polished pieces of glass. And any unusual or particularly pretty stones.”
He said, “Got it.”
I was soon finding more pieces of glass than I’ve ever found before. With each wave came more small “jewels” of glass. Some of them were oval shaped and perfectly smooth, like I’d never seen before.
I was absolutely delighted and kept saying, “Oh, it’s beautiful. Thanks, Honey.”
Then I heard his voice saying, “Heart of my heart,” which is what he wrote at the end of a letter to me.
I smiled and said, “You know what I’d really like? I’d like to find something that would be truly special, something to always remind me of this lovely day.”
Then a thought came into my head and I said, “I’d like a heart-shaped stone.”
Bert teasingly answered, “Hmm. Do you want it with both the right and left ventricles?
I laughed and said, “You know what I mean – a valentine-shaped heart.”
He said, “O.K. I’ll find one.”
I continued to walk, and continued to find pretty stones and more pieces of smooth glass, but no heart-shaped stone. Meanwhile Bert continued to talk, commenting on the beauty of the ocean and other things. He kept me laughing internally with his gentle teasing and funny remarks.
Finally, after walking at least 3 miles down the beach, climbing over large boulders and running from cove to cove just ahead of the crashing surf, I said to Bert, “Honey, it’s okay if I don’t find a heart-shaped stone. It was probably an impossible request. In all my years of searching beaches for stones, shells and glass, I’ve never seen a heart-shaped stone. So even if I don’t find one, I’ll always remember this as a wonderful day.”
But he answered, “I said I was going to find one for you, and I will.”
It was only a few minutes later that I looked down and saw it. It was lying by itself on a smooth stretch of sand and it was directly in my path. Had I continued walking I would have stepped on it.
I stopped, reached down and picked it up. It was a stone valentine, a perfectly heart-shaped rock, its surface smoothed by the surf.
I stood there for a few seconds just holding it and staring at it because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
Then I said, “Oh, honey. Thank you. It’s beautiful. I can’t believe you found it!”
He laughed and said, “You’re welcome. Just remember, I love you and I always will, Heart of my Heart.”
I repeated to him, “Heart of my Heart.”
I continued to look for stones and glass, and got soaked several times because I ventured too close to the incoming surf. Each time I did, I could hear Bert chuckling.
We passed half the afternoon that way until I realized that my hands and feet were numb and I was getting very tired.
I finally made it back to the Leo Carrillo Beach, and left the ocean around 3:30. As I got into my car I realized that Bert was no longer there.
It was almost 5:00 when I arrived home. After greeting Mike (my son) and telling him about my day, I showed him the heart-shaped stone.
He nodded and confirmed, “That’s heart shaped all right. You can’t get more heart shaped than that.”
But it wasn’t until much later, after I’d washed all my stones and glass, put the heart shaped stone on Bert’s dresser and the rest in various containers, done a couple loads of wash, etc. – after Mike had already gone to bed, that it hit me.
I walked into my bedroom, picked up the heartstone, and held it in my hands. As I turned it over and looked at the “backside” I saw a small heart imprint in the stone. “Heart of my heart,” I gasped, and burst into tears. They weren’t sad tears. They were tears of wonder and joy……how in the world?
It was like a small miracle, a miracle of love.