Article January 15, 2001 Issue

Look through, not at

Here's an important part of effective praying

By Marion Martin

When I was a child, my mom and dad went through divorce proceedings for almost a year. On the surface of things, divorce appeared inevitable, but my mom refused to accept the possibility of the breakup of her marriage. She wasn't ignoring the problem or simply hoping it would go away. Instead, she was looking at the situation from a higher standpoint. A friend constantly encouraged her to "look through, not at." In other words, look to the spiritual reality of God's creation—its perfection—instead of focusing on the problem. Science and Health puts it this way: "Mortals must look beyond fading, finite forms, if they would gain the true sense of things" (p. 264).

My mom was being urged not to accept this bleak state of affairs as an inevitable fact. She began to realize that she and my dad were cherished by God. They were receiving the good that He alone could give them. Therefore, they could not be deprived of anything. Instead of focusing on the situation, my mother consistently looked beyond it. Just before the year ended, she and my father had a beautiful reconciliation, followed by 25 years of happiness together.

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