Article October 7, 1996 Issue

Never trapped in an abusive situation

Written for the Sentinel

God has promised all his children safety and peace. The Bible tells us, "My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places" (Isa. 32:18). Yet how can this be true when you feel trapped in a volatile relationship that you feel might explode if you try to escape? Let me tell you how I found a solution.

Some years ago I found myself and my two preschool children caught up in a very frightening situation. My husband had employment problems that resulted in deep depressions and extreme mood swings. The children and I suffered regular verbal abuse, which frequently escalated into violent rages. Although we were never physically beaten, the threat was always present. Throughout this ordeal I prayed diligently, continued my church work, and daily studied the Bible, and Science and Health. I prayed from the basis that man is, in reality, the spiritual idea of God. In my prayers, I saw our entire family, and all families, held in God's love, reflecting God's kindness, gentleness, and peace. Often I had a fellow Christian Scientist pray for me, as well.

I remember that on one particularly bad day, when my husband had roared out of the house with a loaded gun in his hand, my friend reassured me, "You don't have to be afraid." Now, this could sound like such an easy thing to say, but I knew it went much deeper. God did not create a predatory or an unstable mind capable of terrorizing others. I saw clearly that my husband was the loved and loving child of God, the one Mind, and knew that that was all he could express. God, being good and loving, could not create the opposite of Himself. We are His reflex image, the very expression of His Mind. This paragraph from Science and Health was particularly helpful as I held to the spiritual identity of man: "In Science man is the offspring of Spirit. The beautiful, good, and pure constitute his ancestry. His origin is not, like that of mortals, in brute instinct, nor does he pass through material conditions prior to reaching intelligence. Spirit is his primitive and ultimate source of being; God is his Father, and Life is the law of his being" (p. 63).

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