God is taking care of us

Some years ago, I was living in a suburb of San Francisco and going through a Christian Science nurses’ training program at a Christian Science nursing facility. I shared a house “off campus” with two other women. The home was put up for sale, and one day our landlady told us the home had been sold and we would need to move. Efforts to find another place together with my roommates continually fell apart. 

At the time, I was engaged and was going to be married at the end of the training program. The thought came very strongly to me that for my last year of Christian Science nurses’ training it would be good to live by myself—to view these last several months of on-the-job training as a time to hone the Christian Science nursing skills I was learning and also a time to quietly prepare my thought for the “birth” of a new idea, the new step of being married and sharing my life with another person, and my Christian Science nursing practice with a new community. 

I lined up students from a high school nearby to move my belongings for me the following Saturday, and I took that week off from my training to house hunt. Yet place after place that I called over the phone was already taken, or there was no answer, or repeated busy signals. 

I prayed continually not to become discouraged. Every time fear crept into my thought I reaffirmed that God, in His loving wisdom and care for me, had never failed me before when I steadfastly acknowledged His complete control. In this situation, as in past ones, God was in charge of the outcome, not me, not potential landlords, not the want ads in the local paper, not my personal opinions about how things should turn out. The all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, loving Father-Mother God was ever present and in charge of the move.

At a church testimony meeting, the Wednesday night before the day I’d need to be moved out of my house, I was approached by the school’s principal, who was a Christian Scientist. He asked where I was going to be moving. I told him I did not know yet, but that God was in charge. He looked skeptical, but with complete trust and support, said the high school students would be there as planned on Saturday morning to help me move. 

After church, I went home feeling shaken and cried out in anguish and prayer to God to better understand that God, divine Love, really was in charge and would not leave me and my two kitties homeless! At that moment the words “never doubting” flashed through my head. I knew it was a phrase from Mary Baker Eddy’s writings, and I looked it up. The statement I found was one that had meant a lot to me over the years. It was from a short article, “Angels,” which begins on page 306 in Mary Baker Eddy’s Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896. It was just what I needed. Here it is below:

“When angels visit us, we do not hear the rustle of wings, nor feel the feathery touch of the breast of a dove; but we know their presence by the love they create in our hearts. Oh, may you feel this touch, —it is not the clasping of hands, nor a loved person present; it is more than this: it is a spiritual idea that lights your path! The Psalmist saith: ‘He shall give His angels charge over thee.’ God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies. Never ask for tomorrow: it is enough that divine Love is an ever-present help; and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need every moment. What a glorious inheritance is given to us through the understanding of omnipresent Love! More we cannot ask: more we do not want: more we cannot have. This sweet assurance is the ‘Peace, be still’ to all human fears, to suffering of every sort.”

God would not leave any of my “family” out of the healing demonstration.

I was buoyed by this clear healing message and a calm assurance, recognizing that I dwelled within divine, omnipresent Love. That was the reality and my true home. I am God’s idea and my fullness, my completeness, isn’t fragmented. I could never lack anything. The belief that I could possibly be without a place to call home was the unreality, a lie. Everything I needed to express my spiritual identity as God’s child (including a place to live) came with the package. With these thoughts, I was able to go to sleep, confident that everything I needed was already provided for me, and that I could rest well in God’s love.

The next morning I woke to the thought “Call that number back.” Without questioning this angel message, I knew which number this meant, and redialed one number from the want ads, which had been busy all week. I reached the landlord of a studio apartment just down the road from where I was training. He was showing the apartment at 10:00 a.m. he said. I could come and see it, but I was fifth on the waiting list.

The minute I arrived I felt that this was the right place for me. But I also knew that all of the candidates for the apartment were included in God’s plan, too. In my heart, I knew that God would not just do a good thing for me and exclude others, but that in His infinite love for each one of His children, He already had a plan for all. God knew exactly what each candidate needed and He would lead them, and me, to our rightful homes. I didn’t need to be fearful or outline how things would turn out for any of us. I filled out the paperwork. When the landlord saw that I was employed full time and in a nurses’ training program, he offered me the apartment! I told him I had two cats. “No pets,” he said. Since I’d been praying to know that God would not leave any of my “family” out of the healing demonstration, and God never takes us half way, I was calm. I told the landlord that they were very good cats and he would love them. He looked at me, sighed, and said “Well, $200 more then. Come back at noon with the rent and the extra pet deposit and the place is yours.” I was overjoyed!

The only thing was, I did not have the extra $200. I had exactly the amount needed for the first and last month’s rent but not the pet fee. I went to my car and prayed to know what I should do. In Mrs. Eddy’s poem, “ ‘Feed My Sheep’ ” (Poems, p. 14) it says, “I will listen for Thy voice,” and that is what I quietly did. I listened for God’s voice. The thought came clearly to me to drive to my school. So off I went, and as I was approaching it, I was guided to go in the front door. I walked into the main foyer, not knowing where to go, and was approached by a lady from the accounting office who said to me “Oh, there you are, Lynne, I have been looking for you: I have a check for you for $200.” It was my stipend for living “off campus” during my final term. I had no knowledge that a stipend program even existed and left with gratitude to God ... and even some goose bumps. 

This experience has served as a beacon in my life, and as solid proof of our Father-Mother God’s ever-presence, leaving no doubt that God is always with us—guiding, guarding, loving, cherishing, protecting, and lifting us to a greater understanding of Her constant, tender care.