My 60 Year Love Affair with the Ocean

Sixty years ago this month, I was standing on a beach at Ocean City, Maryland seeing an ocean for the first time in my life. I was there with my Mom and Dad and my two little sisters on our summer vacation. I can still remember how overwhelmed I was by the sheer size of the ocean stretching in every direction my eye could see. I had grown up close to Lake Erie and couldn't help comparing the lake to the immense span of water that seemed to go on forever. I remember feeling so small in a world that had suddenly grown so big.

As the days went by, I was even more captivated by the utter power of the surf crashing onto the shore sending surges of foaming water rushing to the beach. I had just turned eighteen years old and was faced with probably the biggest decision of my life. Was God calling me to religious life? All my Catholic schooling had brought me to this point telling me that becoming a nun and serving God was the highest calling one could answer. And if God was calling me, could I ever refuse? All I could do was look at the ocean and say this prayer. Please help me God to know your will. My boat is so small and your ocean is so big. That was the beginning of my love affair with the ocean.