Article September 11, 1978 Issue

You're going away to school

Sheila Geier

You are on the brink of a new phase in your life. You are expectant, excited, wondering. You begin to feel that like St. Paul you are ready to "put away childish things." Real maturity, though, isn't just the outcome of a lot of human experiences, but of an ever-expanding understanding of God and of what you are to Him.

Actually, going away to school does not mean leaving home and family. It means expanding your concept of home and family to include your new environment and new friends. Home is not "here" and school "out there"; home is a condition of thought.

Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health: "With one Father, even God, the whole family of man would be brethren; and with one Mind and that God, or good, the brotherhood of man would consist of Love and Truth, and have unity of Principle and spiritual power which constitute divine Science."Science and Health, pp. 469-470; In reality, Father-Mother God is the only parent, because God is the creator and governor of all. There is no thing and no one outside His creation. When you recognize that everyone is inside, with one heavenly Parent, your view of family is suddenly enlarged. How can you ever leave your parents and family if God is your ever-present Father and Mother?