If you ever had a swimming lesson, you probably remember how important it was to learn how to float on your back. At first your teacher most likely held his or her arms under you to keep you on top of the water. You trusted your teacher to keep you from sinking. Then gradually you relaxed and rested on the water without any help. You didn't need a course in hydrodynamics to keep you afloat. You just trusted.

Similarly, we don't need to know everything there is to know about God to keep our heads above water when faced with problems. If we learn to trust in God's supporting power, understanding even a bit about His supremacy, we can stay above the waves instead of drowning in them.

This trust played an important role in a healing I had when I was a teenager and my family had become interested in Christian Science. One day I injured my ankle badly and couldn't put my foot on the floor without pain. My mother suggested I call a Christian Science practitioner to pray for me. I didn't know much about how prayer was a form of treatment, but I had already seen healings through prayer in my home. At first I was reluctant, but I finally did call a practitioner and asked him to help me.

I was supposed to go to a musical the next evening and play in a basketball game the morning after that. I said that now I wouldn't be able to do either one of these things. To my surprise, he said—with assurance—"Why can't you do both?" He left me with a Bible proverb to think about: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding" (Prov. 3:5).

I slept that night, and in the morning I woke up completely free from pain. I did go to the musical that night, and I did play in the basketball game the following day. After the game, the coach told me it was the best game I had ever played. I always remember this healing because I was able to put my trust in God even though I didn't know much about how to do it.

That kind of trust isn't blind. Whether it's our trust or the trust of someone who is praying for us, it's based on at least a little understanding of God and of how God relates to us. And this is a firm foundation, no matter what the need.

If someone wanted to go further with this, he or she could ask, "Where does my trust lie?" In the day-to-day matters of our life, we might ask ourselves, "Am I trying to push events and relationships along because I think I know what's best?

Do I hesitate to make decisions because I'm afraid I'll make a mistake?" In both cases, we're feeling personally responsible for a good result. That's not really relying on God.

But we can't be apart from God or from a higher guidance. Even just catching a glimpse of this truth leads to knowing what steps to take instead of simply fluctuating with indecision. God is Mind, and because we're God's expression, we express divine Mind in all its wisdom and intelligence.

It's easy to rely on other people and not trust in God. But leaning on God doesn't lessen anyone's love for family and friends, belittle anyone's love for us, or discount anyone's advice. The love, the support, we feel from family and friends is an expression of God's love. As I learned when I hurt my ankle, good things come from this trust in God. "To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings" (Science and Health, p. vii).