I WAS ENJOYING the warm sun and the smell of an autumn evening. The dogs were in the back of my pickup truck, and I was sitting upfront with the windows wide open. The parking lot was nearly empty and very quiet. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man walking toward my truck and thought to myself, "What a beautiful evening for a stroll."

Then I heard, "Give me all your money." The man, whose breath was strong with alcohol, was now standing next to my open window. I tried to make light of his demand by smiling and saying that I'd "already spent my allowance." But pulling a claw hammer from his coat, he said, "Give me all your credit cards. If you don't, I'm going to kill you. The dogs, too." At that moment I felt concern and anger, as well as confusion about what to do next.

But it was the silence that suddenly took hold of my thinking that really stands out about that day not the anger or confusion I felt. Kind of like a familiar TV message: We now interrupt this program for an important message.

Prior to this, I'd felt the kind of anger I hadn't felt for years. I was actually ready to open the truck door and knock this guy off his feet. Then came that immense silence, followed by this angel thought, "Why don't you use the Christian Science you love so much? Look to the spiritual reality of this moment to God, the spirit of Truth and Love instead of what appears to be happening."

I knew firsthand both the distress and false power of yielding to anger, and the permanent peace that can be gained through trust and reliance on God's omnipotent love. I knew, too, that retaliation and physical force weren't the answer divine Love was urging me to find.

I experienced rage for the first time when I was 12 years old. Some kids at school regularly picked on me, calling me names and pushing me around. Then the day came when I'd had enough. I let anger override my fear, and I beat up the leader. That eliminated the bullying for the time being, but it actually left me unhappy. I didn't like knowing I'd hurt someone. Plus it was a temporary solution. The bullying and subsequent fighting happened again, twice. And even in high school, and beyond, there were times when I was seized with uncontrollable anger.

In my heart, I felt God was my answer. Mom always made sure, as I was growing up, that I said my prayers and when I'd visit my grandmother, she'd read Bible stories to me. I remember the good I sensed from all this and associated that goodness with God. Yet I hadn't found answers in any of the churches I'd attended, and often came away from them just feeling guilty and unhappy.

Then, when I was in the military, relatives I was visiting invited me to join them at a talk on Christian Science. The speaker talked about God as Love itself. It was the first time I'd heard that God loved me, everyone of us actually, and that we could turn each moment to Him as Father-Mother for inspiration, strength, healing, and guidance. And furthermore, that we could truly trust His help. I remember thinking, "Wow, this is what I've been looking for." And it came like a drink of cool water in a desert. I left that lecture completely free of a two-pack-a-day cigarette habit. I was in awe of what took place. During the talk, I'd simply asked myself, "Why shouldn't this Science be able to work for me, too?"

The lecture also got me thinking about the spiritual reality underlying all things. It was then that I began to rise above the mental fog that anger and fear create. I began to make a consistent effort to view myself and everyone as part of God's design, each included in His harmony rather than react to what appeared to be happening around me. For years, I was free of angry outbursts.

But that autumn day in the parking lot, I was ready to let anger resolve the situation again, until that startlingly natural question came to thought: "Why don't you use the Christian Science you love so much?"

As I looked at the man wielding the claw hammer, I caught a glimpse of God's expression, rather than the threatening human figure this man was trying to portray. I saw that God had created this man spiritual and good (see Gen. 1:26, 27). It came to me right then that I couldn't physically touch his true being even if I tried, nor could he touch mine; and that nothing could ever separate either one of us from God's love. We were both His dear children, composed of spiritual qualities alone, no matter what—qualities such as intelligence, compassion, honesty, abundance, and grace.

In the space of just a few moments, I held on to these thoughts with all my being, realizing how close I was feeling to God, to Love. I sat back, my shoulders relaxed. Absolute calm swept over me. When I looked again at the man standing so close to my truck window, I felt absolutely no anger or fear.

The man put the hammer back under his coat. "Ya know," he said, "there's just nothing to do around this town. Do you know anything going on?" I said I didn't know of much other than a movie. He talked for a minute or two, then said, "Well, I gotta go. You have a good evening." I'd learned by then that his name was Bob. "You have a good evening, too, Bob," I said. He walked around the back of the truck and petted the dogs, who joyfully accepted his kindness, their tails wagging. And then he went whistling on his way.

Wow, I thought, what just happened here? In the days and weeks that followed, I continued to be in wonder at the immediate change in the whole scene, and at the natural ease of being mentally and physically safe. It felt so right to feel only love. I'd experienced the spiritual reality I'd been seeking. Right there, the power of God's law of Love had taken over, and we each had responded.

It became especially apparent, as well, that neither the alcohol on this man's breath, the threat of his hammer, nor my heightened anxiety or compulsion to respond violently had ever had any power or reality, because they didn't originate in God, good. Each frightening detail was defused in a matter of moments through the power of Love. Bob and I and the dogs had been blessed, and were safe.

Christian Science keeps proving to me that we are all in this life of Love together never separated by what human terms or conditions might present. And nothing really exists that can change or hide this truth. css