Homeward Bound

HAVE you ever noticed how people walk differently as they head for home? It's a walk of enthusiasm. Regardless of the gait, it usually expresses a happy anticipation of good. At least that's what I thought about the people walking home as I stared down from my office window into the streets below. I was watching with envy as city workers hurried to their cars and bus stops. Up to now I had been one of them. But no longer. Financial obligations were absorbing most of my funds, and I'd had to give up my apartment.

The envy I felt toward those in the streets heading home engulfed me in self-pity. Under these circumstances, I wasn't just living in a station wagon (the only home I had at the time); I was dwelling in a state of mind filled with thoughts of deprivation. I was living in my own mentally constructed ``house'' of lack.

I finally turned my thoughts to God and began to pray. As a student of Christian Science I had learned that man is created by God, Spirit. God didn't create a struggling, incomplete mortal who is cut off from good. He created man in His own image, ever cared for and loved. I remembered the closing verse of the twenty-third Psalm: ``Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.''

God, Spirit, is infinite good. And man -- His idea, His creation -- lives in the ever-presence of His eternal goodness. As God's reflection, man possesses all the good that home includes. The safety, beauty, comfort, peace, harmony, and happiness we associate with home already belong to man. As we begin to recognize this spiritual reality and abide in the consciousness of God's goodness, we're dwelling more and more ``in the house of the Lord.''

In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, gives the spiritual sense of the twenty-third Psalm in this way: ``Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house [the consciousness] of [LOVE] for ever.''

Though it may seem hidden from view, our home in heaven isn't far-off or irrelevant to our present needs. It's within us, as Christ, the true idea of Love, shows us. This secure, harmonious dwelling place is never out of reach, never in danger, can never be taken from us, is never beyond our means. It's forever intact -- divinely bestowed, protected, and governed. It's where goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our lives.

When I turned my thoughts to God and began to reason spiritually, I was truly homeward bound. I was on my way to a better understanding of Spirit as the source of all good. As I began to understand that home isn't a material place but an expression of spiritual qualities, things improved. My funds increased, and a way opened up to purchase a house that over the years proved to be ideal; it even meets the needs of my family today. I've never again felt the lack or envy in regard to having a home that had gripped me that day.

What I learned is true for each of us. Our home is perfect right now because it's in God's allness. Because it's spiritual, our home is complete in every way. It's not over there. It's here in our real being as man. As we perceive and accept this truth, we can begin to demonstrate it in our lives and live in a home that brings joy to us and those around us.

The Christian Science Sentinel, a weekly magazine, contains more articles about God's power to heal.

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