FOR MANY YEARS I worked as an employee relations specialist for a medium-sized company. During the late '80s and early '90s our company, like many others, went through numerous reorganizations that resulted in laying off large numbers of employees. Most of these displaced employees left peacefully, if not disappointed. But some were angry and even threatening. In all of these difficult situations, the anger would dissipate, though, often after a great deal of prayer on my part, and things would be resolved smoothly and satisfactorily.

Despite being closely involved with these situations, none of the experience I had had could begin to prepare me for the frequent, in-your-face encounters I was to have with a then emotionally unstable and volatile husband.

I had married a dear man with two children. After we'd been together about seven months, the kids came to live with us for the summer. In September, our four-year-old daughter returned to live with her mother, while our 12-year-old son happily stayed on with us.

School started, and we all were merrily going about our various activities. In a short time, however, my husband began to exhibit angry outbursts toward our son, usually over homework or school issues. These outbursts increased over time, and our home was often filled with tension and uneasiness. Within two years, and after many visits to a family counselor, our son decided to return to his mother's home.

But the outbursts did not stop. Now the anger was directly focused on me. I had tried hard during the past two years to maintain my balance and equanimity. I prayed daily, often moment by moment, to see myself, our son, and my dear husband as governed by God. I endeavored not to react to his negative behavior. I made every effort to respond as lovingly as I possibly could. This was not always easy, as these attacks were often very aggressive and intimidating.

I regularly study the book Science and Health to gain ideas on how to approach life's various problems from a spiritual perspective. I've learned that God governs each one of us, and the whole universe, by divine laws. Like the laws of gravity and math, these laws are not visible to our senses. We know of their existence by their effects. As an example, the law of mathematics is always in force, whether or not we are balancing a checkbook. When you apply the rules of mathematics to a problem, you get the corresponding correct answer. I had seen evidence of God's law in operation many times, through numerous physical healings, the recovery of lost items, finding jobs and homes, and resolving human relations problems. This had all come through prayer.

And I'd prayed diligently about this particular problem with my husband. I was endeavoring to see signs of how it is true that we are each made in the "image" and "likeness" of God, as the Bible tells us, reflecting qualities of God such as harmony, joy, health, peace. I was also learning by degrees (and still am learning) that we have to pray, and then act accordingly; that we have to live up to our highest sense of right, and then leave the problem with God.

I continued to pray in this way, but several months passed with still no resolution to the problem. Then, unexpectedly, my husband's employer transferred him to an out-of-state location. He kept in touch regularly, but most of these phone calls were filled with anger. At this point I decided it was no longer right to tolerate this aggressive disturbance, and felt it best that we permanently separate and divorce. He never returned to my home, even though he transferred back to his former employment location.

Getting my husband to court to finalize the divorce took four attempts. This was not a step he wanted to take. To complicate things even more, the day before the final court date, my husband's employment was terminated. He was in great distress over all this. So to ensure his appearance in court that day, I picked him up at an agreed meeting spot and drove him to the courthouse.

The court scene was something you might see on the television show Judge Judy. The judge ordered us to leave the courtroom twice because of my husband's inappropriate behavior. My attorney was stunned to silence as he watched this drama unfold before his eyes.

But I was praying "in action." This time when aggression showed up, it didn't disturb me. I was able to see right through it to the reasonableness I knew my husband possessed, and I spoke to those qualities in him. I sensed when to back off and when to offer a solution without inflaming the situation further. I seemed to know exactly what to do to resolve each issue that arose. After meeting with the judge for the third time, he did grant the divorce. I was then able to drive my now ex-husband back to his car peacefully.

You may be wondering, as I did, how this experience demonstrated God's law in operation. It surely seemed that I was having to do a lot of maneuvering in this situation. Where was the harmony I was expecting to see? Why had the marriage not been restored? After all, aren't we supposed to live "happily ever after"?

Well, it's been a few years since that court scene, and not too long ago I received a call from my former husband. He explained that he was doing much better and was calling to discuss a job change he was considering. He said he wanted to talk with me because he appreciated how I had handled many difficult situations while we had been married. He commented on what he called my "spiritual approach to things." He said this had often helped him, though he quickly admitted he had not been able to acknowledge it at the time.

This acknowledgment confirmed for me that God's law had been in operation all along, and it still is. It's something we can depend on even if we can't always see it at work. A statement by the author of Science and Health epitomizes for me what I am learning: "Who would stand before a blackboard, and pray the principle of mathematics to solve the problem? The rule is already established, and it is our task to work out the solution. Shall we ask the divine Principle of all goodness to do His own work? His work is done, and we have only to avail ourselves of God's rule in order to receive His blessing, which enables us to work out our own salvation" (Mary Baker Eddy, p. 3).

Circumstances don't always work out the way we plan, or in the way we think they should. But if we "avail ourselves of God's rule" and do what seems the best under the circumstances, we do get the answers we need for each situation.