Safety in paradise

Peter James Wilson

Once I was taking my wife and new baby son on holiday, traveling south, down the coastal highway toward Brisbane in Australia. It was dark, as the sun had set, and we had caught up to a cyclone, which had been preceding us down the coast.

After we had moved into the influence of this storm, a large prime mover [semitrailer, or tractor-trailer truck], towing a refrigeration rig, overtook us. The wind, which I was steering against, was suddenly blocked by the prime mover. This reduction in wind pressure against our small van required an adjustment in the way I was steering. Everything happened so quickly, however, that before I could do anything about it, the van speared off the road.

I tried to counter this move, but the van then swung back toward the rig. Washed-out road shoulders bumped one front wheel into the air, allowing the storm winds to lift both front tires above the road. The wind threw the front of our van toward the rig. In my mind I yelled, "God, I'm in trouble. What do I do?" The answer came as clear guidance on how to steer. I obeyed, almost automatically.

The front tires hit the road in a perfect line taking us to safety. My gratitude cannot be expressed in words. The semitrailer driver didn't even notice our little drama. He moved on into the night. The cyclone continued on its journey, and we continued on ours. We were passed by many more semitrailers that night in the storm, but our reliance on Mind, God, had separated us from their effect. The danger was gone. We reached Brisbane safely.

This experience gave me a glimpse of the harmony that could only be found in the heaven Jesus spoke of as at hand (see Matt. 3:2). There was no need to change paradise; it was always there in God, Soul, as it always has been. The cyclone seemed to be hell on earth, but its rage was powerless before God's government.

Heaven is our spiritual home. But those who look for heaven through the material senses instead of spiritual sense will not find it. The New Jerusalem, which John refers to in the book of Revelation, was paved with gold and decorated with gems. The gold and gems were not, however, the mammon Jesus spoke of when he said, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Luke 16:13). To me, they symbolize the spiritual wealth of regeneration. I see in this revelation a new level of mental strength, which invigorates life and raises understanding and consciousness into spiritual reality, a level beyond what is seen by the material senses.

So, whenever you look for harmony, turn to the still, small voice of Spirit. Then Christ beckons you into the presence of God, our Father in heaven.

Peter James Wilson

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Many sons and daughters, one Father

June 9, 1997

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