Letters January 10, 2000 Issue

YOUR LETTERS

"I could not have hoped for a clearer statement that we're never lonely in God's family."

with contributions from Iain Napier, Patricia A. Derby

Recently, following the passing of my dad and faced with the long absence of my girlfriend, I was beginning to let sadness, loneliness, and depression get the better of me. I became aware of the risk of becoming over-demanding, uneventempered, dissatisfied, unproductive, etc. So I decided to pray—to turn with everything in me towards the principle of unending, never-absent Love for help. Gradually, I felt drawn toward the Sentinel (November 22, 1999), where I had mentally earmarked "Safe even in a hurricane" for reading. The article was inspiring, and I found the last two sentences provided a particularly clear and memorable summary of the writer's thought. After I had finished and enjoyed the article, I started flicking through the rest of the magazine. On the "Letters" page, there was a letter from a dear friend, expressing gratitude for her first subscription to the Sentinel. Then I came across, "Gratitude—don't let envy get in the way" that was helpful too. I could not have hoped for a clearer statement that we're never lonely in God's family and that it's part of our happy duty to recognize the source of that infinite companionship at every moment, even when alone.

Iain Napier
Besancon, France

When the November 22, 1999, issue of the Sentinel arrived, as usual I sat down and devoured it. (It is my favorite periodical.) Sometimes over the years I have agonized over a passage from the Bible or Science and Health until I've gotten a clearer meaning from the periodicals or a clearer understanding through working with a Christian Science practitioner. Today such a passage is John 9:1–7, and now I thank God because of the article "Are you guilty until proven innocent?"