Article November 3, 1980 Issue

Nature rightly seen

MARY MURRAY CURLIN

"It's been rough going, teaching school all day, then taking a graduate course in the late afternoon and evening," she thought on her way to the final examination. She'd studied thoroughly but was fearful and confused about the mass of material she was expected to know. While driving she prayed to know she could trust God unfalteringly.

She passed a clear lake, the sky reflected on its unruffled surface. "Clear reflection," she thought. "Why, that's what I am, the reflection of Mind's intelligence, Love's fearlessness!" After remembering the Bible verse "He leadeth me beside the still waters"^{Ps. 23:2;} she calmed down and began to consider her unity with God, all-knowing Mind, the true source of every thought and action. Certainly, she reasoned, this Mind would be present at the exam.

Shortly after, she passed a flower garden blooming in the spring warmth. She remembered Jesus' words, in teaching complete reliance on God: "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."^{Matt. 6:28, 29;} She became aware of the deeper meaning—the spiritual significance— of nature. Her jitters abated as she accepted more and more the tenderness of divine Love's care.