Article August 24, 1998 Issue

Prayers large enough to include the world

God's control of you—of everyone

By Yvonne Joy Prinsloo

"How Was your first ski trip?" everyone asked us on our return to South Africa. With a twinkle in my eye, I produced calendar filled with funny pictures of people on the slopes. I turned to one and laughingly exclaimed, "This is me." The picture was of a woman dressed in everything the ski shops offered, but with little worn in the right place, flying down the slope upside down—and with such an expression on her face! The caption read, "In full control!" We roared with laughter.

A few years later we went skiing again. But instead of joy, I felt only fear. I spent hours in prayer during that trip, trying to gain my freedom from this vise-grip of fear. I managed to ski, but not with joy, only fear. Then one day on the slopes, I misread my position. I thought I had come to the end of the run, so I placed my skis together and pointed them straight down the mountain. You can imagine how I felt as I discovered that I was at the beginning of a new run, not the end! By the time I realized my mistake, I was already going so fast that there was nothing I could do but pray. world R. NORMAN MATHENY,
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

"God is in control," I affirmed. That silly picture of the upside-down skier and the caption "In full control" flashed into my thought. Again I tried to pray, but this time, that picture filled my consciousness. As I continued to reach out to God, this message came to me with authority: "God is in control of me." I realized that the only me there can ever be is the one that God made, controls, loves, protects, and guides. This true selfhood is purely spiritual, God's reflection, and can never be separate from Him. With this realization, I felt secure and safe. An unspeakable peace filled my consciousness, even as the wind whistled past me.

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