We were refugees. We had lost everything. Having fled the heavy bombing of our city, we reached a village after a long journey. A farmer offered my family and me a room above a stable. I was just a small child. I cried. And I so much wanted to go to sleep. But ever-recurring nightmares frightened me.

Though this happened years ago, the Balkan tragedy brought back memories. Seeing the images of refugees, I reached out to God in prayer, and instantly I could feel His deep, unquenchable love for His dear, beloved children.

Most of us have seen pictures of Kosovar children looking into television cameras and have heard their family members telling of these little ones crying all night. It makes the heart ache. But there can be a silver lining in the violent clouds of ethnic, religious, and political hatred. Because at a time of severe struggle, we may also discover, as Mary Baker Eddy quotes, "... man's extremity is God's opportunity" (Science and Health, p. 266).

On such occasions we so much want to reach out to know and do good. This desire opens our thought to God. Turning to God and listening for His voice within, we feel God's comfort. This points to a most secure place of refuge—a childlike trust in God, in good, right there where the icy winds of hatred blow. Most children intuitively trust and want to stand with good, even if they are deprived of life's simplest necessities. Give them a patch of grass where they can play with a ball, and they respond with joy and self-forgetfulness.

Just a glimpse of the sustaining infinite helps us feel safe. And this ultimately changes our thinking about everything. It moves us through the dailiness of life in a creative and most positive way. We then recognize divine Love as our rock and there stand tall. The Psalmist says, "My heart trusted in him, and I am helped" (Ps. 28:7). This is one of the many passages in the Scriptures that kept my trust in God buoyant.

When we were refugees, one day my mother asked me to fetch milk for my baby brother. Attacks from out of the sky could be sudden, so she reminded me to take a path where I could find quick cover. Walking along, I suddenly heard the sound of an airplane overhead. A barn was nearby. As I was heading for it, a voice within me clearly said, Run for a different cover. It didn't make sense to me, but I did run.

The barn was hit by a bomb and was completely destroyed. I was badly shaken but safe. Afterward I asked myself, What is it that speaks to me in this way and is keeping me safe?

Years later, I was introduced to Christian Science through the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. I saw that here was the Comforter speaking to humanity. Science and Health points out, "You must understand your way out of human theories relating to health, or you will never believe that you are quite free from some ailment" (p. 381). And then it showed me how to gain this understanding. It helped me find my way out of notions of insecurity. I was also healed of migraine headaches, as well as the dreadful nightmares of scenes from the past.

What did the Comforter reveal to me? That God made us in His image. That He loves His image—you and me—dearly, and never for a moment keeps us apart from Him. That's why it's so important to stick to God, good, only.

I'll never forget the first time I was conscious of good's constancy. I suddenly realized that God's law of ever-present goodness was the "voice" that had guided, comforted, and safeguarded me and my family all along.

As we value God and man more and reject any power or reality of evil as only a false claim, we'll experience in some measure the one and only power—almighty good. Trusting our lives to God bestows the grace that enables us to live what is spiritually right not just for ourselves but for others, too.

Science and Health explains: "Love and Truth make man free, but evil and error lead into captivity.

"Christian Science raises the standard of liberty and cries: 'Follow me! Escape from the bondage of sickness, sin, and death!'" (P. 227). By following the Comforter's message, we learn to pray more effectively. And as we hold to the spirit of God's law, we experience a sweeter sense of liberty. It spiritualizes thinking. This liberated me from the mistaken notion of feeling separated from good. And gently healed the wounds and removed the scars of war experiences.

When we pray for the little ones, the families, the elders in the Balkans, and the people around the globe, I feel that something beautiful starts happening to them and to us. Our prayer is a loving, healing thought, resting on them. Prayer reveals the power of empathy and true brotherhood, and it bands people together when facing a crisis. It helps us recognize that each of God's children is inseparable from divine Love.

Understanding this even just a tiny bit heals the aching heart.