Autumn days decline early

MIDORI KADOTA

Autumn days decline early. Unfortunately it had begun to rain, and the edge of the forest was already dark. Beyond the forest the road divided in five directions. At the crossroads four or five houses stood in a row, but every window was closed, and there was not enough light to illumine the street. Of course there was no traffic light. The road coming out of the forest gently sloped and was slippery with rain, so our driver was very cautious. Suddenly a car came speeding toward us. Our driver swerved to the side of the road. Collision with the passing car was avoided, but the grass by the side of the road was wet and slippery, and our driver could not stop the car. In a matter of seconds the car was heading down toward the rice paddy.

Mrs. Eddy's words "...governing, divine Principle lives on" came to me.Editors' Note: These words are part of a passage in Science and Health ( p. 81 ): "Man in the likeness of God as revealed in Science cannot help being immortal. Though the grass seemeth to wither and the flower to fade, they reappear. Erase the figures which express number, silence the tones of music, give to the worms the body called man, and yet the producing, governing, divine Principle lives on,—in the case of man as truly as in the case of numbers and of music,—despite the so-called laws of matter, which define man as mortal." That's right! Even in the dark forest the certainty of divine protection assured me of safety. At that moment the thought of protection meant God's all-encompassing love. The hand of divine Principle, Love, always leads and sustains us. Principle is living, here and now, and sustains man, the idea of Principle. Quite naturally I closed my eyes and bowed my head and said, "Thank you, Father-Mother God." It seemed a long time, yet it was only a moment. When I looked up, the car had come to a stop parallel to the road. It had stopped with both wheels neatly on the concrete walls of the irrigation canal that carries the water to the rice paddy. It was a five-meter drop from the highway.

The car behind us stopped, and the passengers stretched out their hands and pulled us out. How kind they were! They helped us—strangers—without expecting any reward and drove us in their car to a hotel. It was as though I saw before me the good Samaritan, and I was just filled with gratitude.

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