Article September 13, 2004 Issue

Shelter from the storm

A spirituality.com commentary

The earth has ever been to earthlings a symbol of unstoppable power. The inexorable rolling of the planet is the engine of the weather, the course of which continually challenges humanity's claims for dominion. This perennial contest comes into sharp relief when hurricanes and tornadoes are spawned out of the spinning soup of earth's atmosphere.

And so often, humanity takes a big hit—as in 1992 when Hurricane Andrew caused record damage. Subsequent storms combined with widespread in-depth news coverage have trained a large part of the public to go into emergency preparedness mode. Hardware and houseware stores start selling out of emergency supplies. And people start scrambling to get out of the way.

Yet, in the face of such mammoth displays of force, there are those who run to a different place for protection. "We all must find shelter from the storm and tempest in the tabernacle of Spirit," advised Mary Baker Eddy (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 362). This "tabernacle" is the spiritual dimension, or what the Psalmist calls "the secret place of the most High" (Ps. 91:1). It's a realm fully outside the jurisdiction of forces that cause destruction, where all of Spirit's creation lives in peace, harmony, and happiness. It's a dwelling place kinder than the roughneck earth. It's a place where only the breezes of goodness blow in an atmosphere of endless divine Love. And though intangible to the physical senses, it is as solid and as real as the love we each have felt. Its influence is witnessed in the safety and wellbeing being it brings to daily life when thought breaks out of the tabernacle of matter.