By His Grace, Everything Is Possible

Watching Sophia Kim and her children at the Center was like seeing a mother bird and her  chicks spread their wings to fly home. One could witness the lightness of being that a first time visit can bring, as well as the grounded familiarity with Baba that drove their soaring  pilgrimage. As an onlooker, one could revel in their wonder and awe at being here. There  had to be a story to have brought them all the way from England to South Carolina. 

The story began long ago. Sophia discovered Meher Baba thirty years ago. It was on her  20th birthday when she came down some steps into an underground movement studio in  Paris, France, where she was taking a mime class. The teachers of that course later  relocated their school to England, and when Sophia followed them there, she came to  discover that they were a couple of Baba Lovers. At a welcome party in England, she was  introduced to Meher Baba for the first time and left with a borrowed book that happened to  be none other than God Speaks. This became her very first step on what was to grow into  a central focus in her life. 

The following year, while going through what she describes as a “mental dilemma,” Baba —who had until then remained simply the author of a book—suddenly became deeply  personal when she found herself calling His name within her heart space. 

It was at that very moment that He gave her an experience of the power of His name. “It  was as though a sword had cut through my reality and everything that appeared as  ‘material’ and ‘solid’ wasn’t anymore. All I saw was golden light—everything was  experienced as golden lava light flowing one into the other. I could recognize the outline of  buildings, people, roads, and trees, but the hard material aspect wasn’t there anymore.  Suddenly everything seemed to be flowing one into the other without separation.  Everything was pulsing, swirling, vibrating, and flowing.” This experience faded over the  course of a week, but it left her with a sense of a curtain being drawn back. It gave her the  conviction of His divinity and the power of His name. 

The following year she went to Meherabad and Meherazad and met with the Mandali. She  was fortunate enough to meet Eruch, Aloba, and Bal Natu to name some, who made a  deep impact on her very first visit. From then on, Sophia had become Baba’s. However,  life did not become easier. Her relationship with Him deepened despite and through the  hardships. At times she found herself living in places where there were no other Baba  Lovers. So she put into practice what the Mandali had told her: to give everything to Him  internally and to keep a constant inner dialogue with Him. Eventually she started seeing  Him within—and this whole process made her very aware of how accessible He is, which  filled her with great excitement. 

As years passed, Sophia became the mother of three beautiful children, who became an  intrinsic part of her journey with Baba. While she had heard of Meher Center in Myrtle  Beach, South Carolina, she was never able to visit. It was her children and some very  special friends who helped make that dream come true. 

Ellora (17) and Elio (16) first heard about the Youth Sahavas at the Center from Jeff  Wolverton in the UK during the Autumn 2023 Shropshire Sahavas. Jeff sowed the seed  with his warm invitation, and the ball started rolling. “Seeing the post for the Youth  Sahavas this year, we applied for some scholarship support towards the flight tickets of 

Ellora and Elio. Our journey would not have been possible without this support,” Sophia  recalls. 

It was with the help of Jeff and two dear friends, Lawrence and Jackie—each playing a  vital role—that the family’s pilgrimage became a reality. Lawrence helped financially to  make it possible for Sophia and her youngest son Noel to travel as well. Jackie lovingly  opened her doors and her heart, giving them a place to stay during the Sahavas. 

Sophia dropped her two older children at the Sahavas and stayed off-Center with Noel.  “When I picked them up at the end of the Sahavas, they were tearing from the experience.  Elio, for instance, told me between his teeth, so as not to be overheard by his new friends  still around him: ‘Ma, I’ve made friends for life! I want to come back next year.’ Ellora too  was emotional and assured me that it had been better than she had anticipated, with deep  friendship bonds. To me, it felt like handing them back to Baba—releasing the  responsibility—as they now prepare to go on their individual spiritual journeys.” 

After the Youth Sahavas, arrangements were made for the family to stay together on the  Center. For Sophia, this was a thirty-year dream finally coming true. “It is difficult to  describe how it feels when a dream comes true. After imagining it so many times, I found  myself having to pinch myself to check I wasn’t dreaming.” 

So often during her stay, she was found riding a bike with her kids across the Center,  zipping in and out of kitchens, mingling with others, and embodying the joy of being home.  The homey atmosphere, the natural surroundings, and the simple joys—even the  sweltering August heat, sudden thunderstorms, and mosquito bites—all contributed to  grounding her in present-moment consciousness. “It was beyond my dreams—a real  miracle!” 

Now back in the UK, Sophia experiences a deep sense of homesickness. “I miss ‘home.’  Myrtle Beach gave me such a special feeling of family, of easy connections with everyone I  met. It’s as though, in the heart space, we already know each other. I’m aware that love is  recognized most by its longing and absence; hence the feeling of ‘homesickness’ is but the  witnessing of having set foot home, even if just for a moment.” 

For Sophia, this miraculous pilgrimage is proof of what Eruch Jessawala once said: “By His grace, everything is possible.” 

Jai Meher Baba.