Arnie was OK, really. He put too much grease on his hair so it looked gross. And he wore shirts with dumb collars. But except for the grease and the collars he was OK because he'd talk to me.

My family had moved the summer before my senior year of high school, and I was going to a new school where I didn't know anyone. So I was glad to have someone to sit with and talk to at lunch. That way I didn't look stupid always sitting all by myself.

Just about everyone wants friends. The thing I figured out was—some of it I figured out when I knew Arnie and some of it later—that feeling you belong doesn't have to be such a hard thing.

My folks used to talk about prayer quite a lot and they prayed quite a lot. I couldn't always see the use of it, but I had thought about prayer a certain amount. At some point I began to see prayer as a way to think and to listen to God. And a way to help solve problems. Even problems like being someplace new and not having any friends. The Bible says, "God setteth the solitary in families." ^{Ps. 68:6.} That's a good statement. It's like a statement right from God, a promise that He will keep. And one way of praying, I think, is trusting that God keeps His promises. The way a loving parent does.

When Christ Jesus talked about God he called him Father. Not just his Father, but our Father. That means we all have a lot in common. And our Father, God, does know how to set the solitary ones, the loners, in families, or in situations with good friends.

It's easy to talk about. How does it get done? One way is to think about what God really is. Maybe think of Him as Mind, and as Love, names for God that Christian Science uses. If God —the ultimate, only power—is Mind, He knows all of His ideas and holds them together in a good way. Being divine Love, He does it right. God always does His work perfectly.

Our work is expressing good, expressing intelligence, expressing love. We can't outline exactly how that expressing takes place in our lives. But it inevitably must because God's law of harmony governs His creation. For instance, maybe your school has a food or clothing drive. Students go around to collect canned food and other goods to share with needy families. In a way, you can think of that as expressing love—and not just to the needy families. It's a way to share with other students that good feeling of working together.

Or, maybe you skateboard. You need to figure out some place it's safe, especially if you're going to work on stunts. It's not a question of being afraid. It's a question of doing what's intelligent. When you use good judgment this way it's really a sign that Mind is expressing itself.

Those are two small "for instances" of how our actions right here can be governed by divine Love and divine Mind. This kind of expression is what I think of as living prayer. It's practical. It touches your life right where you are—old school or new. I didn't realize so much when I knew Arnie that probably a lot of other people were lonely at that high school. But hardly anyone ever admits that he aches inside; everyone wants to feel OK about himself and secretly hopes others will agree.

The amazing thing is that getting an idea of what it means to be the child of God is what really, basically, brings good feelings about ourselves and others. Getting a better sense of our relationship to God gives us a better line on our relationship with others. As His children we can't be cut off from Him, so we can't be cut off from the rest of His "family."

There's a place where Mrs. Eddy writes, "Where God is we can meet, and where God is we can never part." ^{The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 131.} If we can begin to understand that, we can get a better basis for having friends.

When I knew Arnie, sometimes we'd sit on the steps outside the drama building while having lunch. Sometimes we'd have good conversations. Or we might just sit and watch people. Sometimes we'd take verbal potshots at each other. Being friends doesn't always mean agreeing. You kid around a lot, and maybe you don't like everything about each other. But a friend is somebody there when you need him, and he needs you. At the time I was plenty glad for Arnie's friendship. Especially now, looking back, I recognize that the Father's love for His offspring is so complete that it includes ordinary ways of taking care of us— like having a friend.