Article July 31, 2000 Issue

WHEN MY CAR WAS STOLEN

Alice Jean Small

"It is impossible that man should lose aught that is real, when God is all and eternally his." Science and Health, p. 302

That seems to fly in the face of experience. We read or hear reports of loss—of health, of loved ones, of happiness, of employment, of home. But the powerful laws of God's love, when applied in one's life, reverse and annul these conditions. What God gives cannot be lost, taken away, or destroyed.

I was able to prove this spiritual fact when my car was stolen. I had to take a bus back to my home. As I sat in the bus, I prayed with the description of man given in Science and Health. It includes this statement: "[Man] is the compound idea of God, including all right ideas . . ." (p. 475). I realized that I included, in my spiritual consciousness, the idea of transportation. I could never be separated from this idea and the ability to utilize it. I prayed to see that the person who had stolen my car was a child of God. That individual also included the idea of transportation, so he or she didn't need mine. In addition, that person included honesty and integrity. I came home rejoicing in these truths, which I was confident would counteract the loss. In one day, the car was returned.