The medium places her hand on the raging woman’s head, “You have to remember; you have to remember! You told me what you wanted for your life, for your children’s lives, you must fight for yourself from the inside.” 

It is the only redemptive scene in the movie in so many ways. I hate scary movies for the most part and this one is just a different version of the Exorcist. But redemption is something I can get behind — especially the kind in which someone from the outside is reminding someone else of their greatness, of their goodness. 

We all need those reminders from time to time when the world gets us down and we feel a little overwhelmed by the small things that have piled up. Or, perhaps we are facing something monumental and for a moment we have forgotten that we can get through it when we breathe and remember who we really are.

Walking around Ferry Beach I meet many people who have experienced this place as a healing one: a place of hope, a place of redemption, a place of personal growth.  They seem to understand that Ferry Beach doesn’t belong to them, and yet, they are willing to do what it takes to make it better: plant the flowers, pull weeds, pick up trash, write a personal check, volunteer for a project. 

Sometimes, when I am weary, I think of the volunteers, the people who put flowers in the vases in the dining hall just because they want to. Or the people this winter who asked for a “booster” packet so they can share the magic of Ferry Beach with their church. They didn’t ask for anything in return, but what they get back is much greater. 

When people have a gift they want to share, whether it’s buying lights for the auditorium or organizing others to buy chairs they share that gift. They have some extra cash and they believe in the spiritual dictum about tithing to your spiritual home.  They are motivated from the inside. They remember who they are.

In the movie, the medium is able to help the woman who has been taken over by demons fight them off. With her hand on her head, she replays the memory of a happier time to the woman struggling to fight off that, which does not serve her. 

When you walk around Ferry Beach, do you remember who you really are? Do the gifts that you have inside of you burst forth? Are you willing to share them?