Dash—in God's care!

Christopher Haber Graythen with contributions from Elaine F. Faller

Early one Monday morning, my mom and I raced out of the front door as my dad headed out the back door. Apparently we slammed both doors at the same time and the back door opened. When we came home after lunch, I was the first to realize our dog Dash was gone. He is a special member of our family and has been with us for a very long time. We had not been keeping his dog tag on because he is only a house pet. And he had never gone out of our yard. Never.

My mom telephoned my dad, and everyone in my family began searching for him and knowing that he was in his right place—with God—every moment. In Christian Science Sunday School I had learned that all of God's creatures are really spiritual ideas that couldn't be lost or separated from Him. Sometimes this seemed really hard to know, since it looked as if Dash was nowhere to be found. But as I rode my bike through our neighborhood looking for him, I prayed, trusting that we would find him safe and happy.

When we discovered Dash was gone, we contacted a Christian Science practitioner (an individual who helps others through prayer) right away. I shouted to him that our dog was only a house pet and now he was on the streets. The practitioner told me to be calm and to know—to really understand—that Dash was never outside of God's care. He told me that God, divine Mind, governs and controls all that concerns us, Dash included. He also said that my family and I would know where to look and exactly what to do if we shut out fear about Dash and really listened for God's guidance. He quoted from Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy: "The divine Mind maintains all identities, from a blade of grass to a star, as distinct and eternal" (p. 70). He assured me that, in reality, Dash could never be lost, and that I must acknowledge that there is only one Mind governing all of creation.

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