When I was in grammar school, Hurricane Hazel came up the coast of North Carolina and headed inland at roaring speed. Since this unexpected turn was a surprise to school officials, we were let out of school after the high hurricane winds had already started. I was walking to meet my mother when the wind knocked me down on the pavement and rolled me over and over like a tumbleweed.

At that moment, I turned to God for help. I had learned in the Christian Science Sunday School that God is always with us and that prayer to God makes a big difference. God brings protection no matter what trouble we're in. As I was rolling over and over with the force of the wind, I remembered an idea we had discussed in Sunday School: "Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10). As I thought this, I felt very calm and close to God. I was able to get up, between the tremendous gusts of wind, and make it to the meeting point to wait for my mother.

When she arrived, she said that she had been dodging trees that were falling on the road as she drove to get me. She had been praying, knowing God's protection is always present, and she experienced safety. It was the first time I understood that God is not in destruction. We are protected from harm and destruction by God.

This experience, and others I've had since, have reinforced my conviction that we can rely on God's love and law. With another hurricane season in progress, we do have an alternative to fear. Each of us has full access to the total goodness and power of God, because we are the sons and daughters of God. Gaining this spiritual perspective on God and our unbreakable relation to Him eradicates fear of destructive forces, whatever form they may take. To take a firm stand for God's universal peace and harmony as the only influence on the earth, and in our lives, lifts us above destructive trends of thinking. To understand and know God is infinite divine Love, and to put Love at the center of our universe, is essential for healing.

Spiritually understood, God is infinite Life and infinite good. He never sends evil; God only brings peace, harmony, and life to humanity. Infinite Spirit, Love, never destroys nor can it be destroyed. All of God's creation emanates from Him, and must be good. Nothing unlike the good of God is real.

If anything appears destructive or catastrophic, we can emphatically challenge it with God's all-present and powerful divine Truth. The Bible makes clear that God is not in destruction, not in earthquake, wind, or fire. God is infinite Life, infinite good, and does not send destruction to test or try our faith.

How important it is to be active in our prayers, in knowing the true, spiritual nature of God's infinite good.

The Bible gives many accounts of how God's great power and presence saved people in trouble. When Jesus and his disciples were caught in a storm at sea, the disciples were afraid of the storm's destruction—of dying. With divine authority, Jesus said, "Peace, be still" (see Mark 4:37-39). The storm of wind and raging sea stopped immediately, and there was a great calm. The law of God, infinite Life and peace, was far greater than the material forces, and immediately stopped the fear and destruction.

Each of us can prove God's indestructible good in our lives. We are freed from the material view of destruction as we come to know God, Spirit, and to recognize ourselves as spiritual. Harmony, peace, and life are natural states of being in God's universe, and they are as natural in our lives.

God, infinite Spirit, fills all space. What seem to be destructive, material forces are negated by thoroughly understanding that infinite Spirit has no element of matter. Understanding this spiritual concept protects and helps us, as I have seen many times.

I was flying back from China when the plane had to land in Austria because a major hurricane was expected to hit the East Coast of the United States within a few hours. When news of the hurricane was announced in the waiting room of the Austrian airport, extreme panic and fear broke out. Everyone rushed to the phones to call their loved ones. My children and mother were in the direct path of this hurricane. I made a firm decision to refuse to let fear into my thinking at all.

I sat quietly in the waiting room of the airport and began to pray. I thought of the statement from the book of Psalms, "Be still, and know that I am God." I knew infinite Love was present with all of the passengers and their families. And this Love totally excludes fear and destruction.

For a long period, I was deeply immersed in prayer and in the reality of numerous spiritual ideas. These prayers affirmed that God, infinite Spirit, infinite good, was at the center of the universe and right there with all of us. I pondered the actuality of God's infinite goodness, the naturalness of harmony and peace. I recognized that matter does not and cannot exist in infinite Spirit. Therefore, since no matter exists, no destructive force can exist.

I realized I could know only a universe filled with infinite peace and harmony, where no fear or destructive forces could be. I felt divine Love's completely gentle, powerful presence and protection. I lost all fear. I felt only a great peace.

I calmly walked to the phone to call my family. They were glad to hear from me. We exchanged ideas about safety and the best place for them to be. In this kind of situation, my people pray. I thought how effective and powerful, right then, such prayers would prove to be.

I was no longer fearful about the hurricane. Our flight continued across the Atlantic. I knew that we were flying "into Truth's clear day" (Violet Hay, Christian Science Hymnal, No. 64). As we approached New York, the flight captain came on the loudspeaker and said, "By the way folks, sometimes this happens. The hurricane changed course, did not hit land, but went out to sea." A cheer erupted from the passengers.

Every day we can, with great love, join together in a gentle, powerful chorus of prayer and praise to God for His great goodness, for the earth and for all humanity. We can sing together, "...the earth shall be filled with the glory of God/As the waters cover the sea" (Arthur Ainger, ibid., No. 82).css

This article first appeared on www.spirituality.com.