sacred place is storied place. michelle slosser

“Above all else, sacred place is storied place.” –Belden C. Lane, Landscapes of the Sacred
Here is a story that makes Lion’s Bridge a sacred place in my life:

One afternoon during my sophomore year, when I had time to just wander around the city on warm days, I went walking my favorite path through the Mariner’s Museum parking lot, down Museum drive, and to Lion’s Bridge. At that particular time I was going through a change in my life and my self, who had been an avid church-goer and youth group participant all my life. I was realizing that I was losing whoever I was in high school, and I really liked that person. I was scared that I was going down a treacherous path, since I had recently drunk alcohol and engaged in risqué activities for the first time. My life up until then had been carefree and happy, but also very sheltered, and I did not want to stray from what the church had told me a good person was. My heart was heavy, and I felt that I was betraying my God. Fear was taking over my heart and as I peered over the side of the bridge, I felt deep self-loathing and hopelessness. I couldn’t stop thinking in my head, “SOS God, SOS! I need you!” I’ll never forget what happened next, when I felt I had reached a climax of guilt and fear. A muskrat stuck its head out of the water about 20 feet in front of me, looked at me, and dove back down. Instantly I became flooded with comfort and peace, and my eyes with tears of joy. This animal had been sent to the surface just for me! It told me that everything was alright, God was not angry with me, He still loved me. Though it seems so trivial a thing to call an act of God, that muskrat was a friend in one of my lowest moments, and filled me with a trust that has not yet dwindled as far as it did that day. I have grown and changed a lot since sophomore year, but nature and I have kept a close relationship, and she holds the most deeply penetrating comfort and peace for me that I have ever experienced, and Lion’s Bridge will always be my favorite place in my college world.