Have you ever been down to your last dime and wondered how you were going to survive? Many of us have been in tight financial spots, scarcely able to make ends meet. Perhaps you've lost a job or a home, have a fixed income, or are in debt. The world can look pretty gloomy when you don't know where your next dollar is coming from.

But I've been learning that no situation is hopeless. Rather than feeling like a helpless victim of circumstance, we really have a choice about how we respond. There are spiritual resources right at hand to bail us out of whatever financial dilemma in which we find ourselves. We can turn to our divine Parent, the Giver of all good, and trust that no trouble is too big for our rich heavenly Father-Mother. God always provides for legitimate needs.

When I was in the last semester of my senior year in college, I completely ran out of money. I wondered how I was going to buy my food and pay the rent for the rest of the summer before I graduated. Since my parents were also financially strapped, I couldn't ask them.

To make matters worse, although I had a part-time job, working for a friend, I hadn't been paid. The amount owed wasn't a lot of money, although it meant the difference between eating and not eating. But this was a dear friend and I didn't want to make money an issue for our friendship.

As I sat in my room feeling desperate one evening, I reached out in prayer and asked God to quiet my fear about finances. I remember thinking that I was not going to leave that room until I got some answers or at least felt God was in control of this.

I recall getting down on my knees and praying with the Lord's Prayer, considering how, as Mary Baker Eddy said, it "covers every human need" (Science and Health, p. 16). The part that says, "Give us this day our daily bread," meant a lot to me. I reasoned that I could expect that God would give me whatever daily supply I needed. All I had to do was trust. God had helped me through so many situations before—He wouldn't let me down now. God had provided for all my college expenses up until that point through school loans, grants, and work-study—even though it hadn't been clear how the four years would be paid for. Yes, my Father-Mother God would take me all the way.

I also imagined how much trust Jesus must have had in feeding the 5,000 people who had gathered in the desert to hear him speak (see Matt. 14:15–21). He showed an absolute conviction that God would sustain everyone there. Part of his prayer must also have been to ask for the disciples' eyes to be opened to God's abundant good already present, since they had been doubtful about the small amount of food at hand. I imagined what it must have been like to be sitting on the grass with that large group, having some bread and fish passed to me. Would my faith and trust have been enough to break the bread and fish and pass them along—fully expecting there would be enough for the neighbor sitting next to me? I asked God to give me the same trust and expectancy that must have touched those 5,000.

Following this line of thinking, Mary Baker Eddy wrote: "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need. It is not well to imagine that Jesus demonstrated the divine power to heal only for a select number or for a limited period of time, since to all mankind and in every hour, divine Love supplies all good" (Science and Health, p. 494). In a little while, after this prayer, I felt calmer, and I knew I didn't need to be afraid because God would take care of me.

The next day, a friend gave me some garden vegetables. And a day or two later, my other friend paid me twice the amount due me for my part-time work. Those were wonderful signs that God was providing for me. Then other friends, knowing of my situation, gave me some money as an early graduation gift. From then on, until I graduated, all my needs were met. This was a milestone experience for me, and it freed me from many of the financial worries I saw my parents deal with. It held me in good stead as my future financial responsibilities grew.

When I went on to graduate school a year later, the blessing continued. Although I had taken a year off to earn tuition money, I was also learning to be open to the infinite ways God was blessing me, and to the possibility of God's providing another revenue stream—and I was standing on tiptoe to see what He would do.

I hadn't applied for financial aid, because I was told there would be no monies for students starting school in the winter semester. But I learned from my professor, a few days after my arrival, that I was qualified for a full research assistantship. This not only met all my financial needs, including tuition and living expenses, but it also financed my research, which meant that I hardly needed to touch any of the money I had saved.

Even if your bank account is in the red and your prospects look few and far between, there are abundant spiritual resources right at hand to help you. God's law of abundant supply is always acting impartially and universally for everyone. We just need to turn to our rich heavenly Father-Mother, God. Goodness is always at hand and available. css