There had been too many goodbyes. My transient life had included fourteen years of military flying, extensive business travel, forty-eight mailing addresses since high school, marriages, divorces, friends passing on—all these separations had caused me much sorrow. Turning to Christian Science for healing, I found the effects to be immediate, and I can gratefully share my triumph over grief.

This Science teaches us to reverse the negative suggestions encountered during every human trial. I began researching the expression "goodbye." It originally meant, "God be with ye." Doesn't this help to remove sadness from parting? God is with us, everyone, wherever we may be.

Applying the comfort of this phrase to my thought of a brother, I was able to deny the sensational mortal picture that he had died in a bomber crash toward the end of World War II. I began to perceive his God-given immortal identity as an indestructible idea, or image, of God. I scientifically argued, "Has God, the divine Principle of all creation, ever crashed?" The answer came to me, loud and clear, "Never!" Therefore, His expression, man, never lived or died in matter, but faithfully continues to reflect his Father-Mother God, individually and forever.

I saw that my brother's spiritual attributes of joy, being, and giving are eternal. Christ Jesus said, "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." ^{John 17:3.} Accepting this promise, I found my concept of my brother's immortality clarified and unhappiness removed from my thoughts of him.

Then I went to work on gaining a clearer concept of my mother's true identity. She had passed on while I was flying in Korea. It was a privilege for me to acknowledge her Godlike qualities. Constant love, wisdom, joy, beauty, grace, purity, only hint at her real role in God's infinite plan. I no longer envision death or separation as any part of my mother. She is never more than one loving thought away from me, as is my father, and every loved one who has passed on.

This same closeness can be experienced by anyone. It comes from acknowledging our own and others' spiritual identity—our timeless, ageless being. Such classification obliterates time and distance, blessing all who declare it understandingly. The true imparting is always from God to man. Through this glorious impartation, we may express our love for God and for all His creation.

For several years following a divorce, I had no contact with my daughter. After listening to this tale of woe, an experienced Christian Scientist told me, "You have eternity; and you will, I'm certain, resolve every problem and enjoy what God sees as harmony." My phone rang the next morning. It was my daughter. She said, "I've been thinking good thoughts about you, and I want to come out in a few weeks for a visit." Today we're friends.

Every trace of sadness caused by divorce or other misunderstandings can be healed by surrendering all the temporal labels, such as, "ex-wife or husband, former business partner, in-laws." Pray over relationships until you can honestly give everyone his or her proper name: God's elect, His very own child, image, likeness, or idea. Nothing can impede our spiritual progress—not even our own or others' false classifications. Mrs. Eddy clearly spells out the requirements for all healing in this concise statement: "To live so as to keep human consciousness in constant relation with the divine, the spiritual, and the eternal, is to individualize infinite power; and this is Christian Science." ^{The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 160.}

During any transition it is wise to remember the example Christ Jesus gave us. He said, "Thy will be done." ^{Matt. 26:42.} This countered (reversed) his yearning that the experience of the cross be removed from him. We can know, as Jesus so selflessly demonstrated, that God's perfect plan for all of us illuminates eternity and is so complete and just we can confidently place ourselves, family, and friends in His eternal care. The first verse of a hymn reads:

Healing the hurt of human separation comes through our worship of God. As we accept our own and others' true identity, which is permanently rooted in its changeless relationship to God, we can say to every loved one who seems separated from our experience today: "God be with ye."