Article April 23, 2012 Issue

Good is not seasonal

Virginia Hawks

Often it seems that we live in a world where good appears to be unreliable, even shaky at times. We may even wonder if a job, which is now satisfying and meeting our needs, will still be here in the coming months. There is nothing unnatural about wanting good and having good. In fact, we should want good for our families and for others as well. But can we do anything to help remove feelings of uncertainty? 

More than 30 years ago, my husband, Roy, started a business designing and installing commercial and residential sprinkler systems. The business grew and thrived. However, during the months of December and January, there was often a significant drop in activity. I came to view our business as “seasonal.” Some years before this, I had also been employed in a business that was considered seasonal, and each year three months of layoffs were routine. I had accepted this as fact. But I was to learn that I was wrong.

When our own business was facing this challenge, my husband and I made every effort to prepare for the lean times by saving and being wise planners. Although this was a good first step, we began to realize that it was high time we confronted this problem head-on. Through daily study of the Christian Science Bible Lesson, we began to grasp the fact that good comes from God. What God gives is constant, ever present, and right at hand; divine laws are just as immediate and dependable as the multiplication table. Good from God is not limited in any way. We learned that the coming winter seasons held the same good for us and our business as warmer months, just as 3 x 3 always equals 9, night or day, in summer or winter.