In a jam?

Once I was traveling through a number of countries in which I knew only a little of the native languages. I had an appointment with someone, and I had a tight and specific train schedule with transfers to make in order to meet him. I was anxious to have this trip be over.

I approached the track to catch my first train. When it stopped, two people jumped off the front car. I stepped toward one of the middle cars, but I couldn't open the door. Suddenly, the train left.

I was frantic and had no means of contacting the person I was now not going to be able to meet. After a few moments, I decided to put aside my timetable, and pray.

I reminded myself of how God, the source of all good, was there for me and, consequently, that an answer was at hand. I began to feel better and immediately thought that I shouldn't have been so anxious. The joy and good I wanted were not just present at my final destination or on the train that had left. They were everywhere.

I began to see how I was really dealing with a matter of trust - my trust in God.

Did I understand that God's goodness is always available to me? I remembered something I'd read many times from Mary Baker Eddy's "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures": "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need" (p. 494). Perhaps I hadn't been recognizing this very well, but my improved attitude told me I'd get an answer. And I actually began to feel calm.

I decided to return to the ticket counter and explain what had happened. The attendant didn't know what to say until I asked him if he or his co-worker would drive me to the next station. He looked as though the idea was completely unthinkable to him. But he agreed to do it. The relatively short drive went smoothly. I ran to the train and stepped in as the doors closed. The rest of the trip went just fine.

Experiences such as this one convince me that we really are residents of a universe created by a loving God. We always have God's good available to us, amid whatever is going on.

I've appreciated something that Jesus said along these lines: "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest" (John 4:35).

What I take from this is that the good we need isn't as far off as it often seems. Maybe I just need to adjust my vision.

It seemed as if I had no way to get where I needed to be. It may seem as if there's no way to meet a deadline. But we can "lift up our eyes" away from a limited standpoint. We are always in a position to see more of the joy and good that God has for us and. consequently, to feel more secure, more cared for, and fully supplied with answers.

Science and Health also says this, "Let us rid ourselves of the belief that man is separated from God, and obey only the divine Principle, Life and Love" (p. 91). Instead of thinking from the standpoint of the troubling circumstances, we can get ourselves and others to a better spot by remembering that we were created to express, and are in fact expressing, the order and goodness of God, divine Principle.

Thinking from this viewpoint, I find that an answer is always at hand.

Great peace have they
which love thy law:
and nothing
shall offend them.
Psalms 119:165