Article May 29, 1995 Issue

At a dead end?

Ralph N. Whistler

How do we respond if we seem to have reached a dead end in our lives, if we face a situation where there doesn't seem to be a solution or the choices seem unacceptable?

Early in my career in the military I was faced with such a situation. A superior officer seemed to find fault with just about everything I did, causing me much anguish. My wife was ill, and we had three small children to take care of. But I was at sea most of the time. The alternative seemed to be to get out of the Navy and find other work so that I could be of more help to my family. However, I felt it was right to continue with my career in the Navy.

I studied the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy. In her book Mrs. Eddy describes the Scriptural term wilderness as meaning "loneliness; doubt; darkness. Spontaneity of thought and idea; the vestibule in which a material sense of things disappears, and spiritual sense unfolds the great facts of existence" (p. 597).