Article July 21, 2008 Issue

IN FINANCIAL STRAITS?

DRAW ON GOD'S ABUNDANT GRACE

BY MELANIE BALL

Grace speaks to me of the spiritual equanimity and poise that spring from faith in good and in God's constant care. It's what enables us to remain unaffected when we go through life's rough financial patches. Grace involves consistently recognizing the harmony that God creates and maintains — often right in the face of discord. And such a conviction can bring peace and healing.

An early version of Webster's dictionary defines grace as "the free, unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from Him. . . . the influence of the Spirit, in renewing the heart." In a letter from Sentinel founder Mary Baker Eddy to one of her students in Christian healing, she wrote: "You must feel the Love that never faileth, — that perfect sense of divine power that makes healing no longer power but grace. Then you will have the Love that casts out fear and when fear is gone doubt is gone and your work is done" (Frank Walter Gale, We Knew Mary Baker Eddy, pp. 90-91). I find that cultivating this sense of grace quells fear when the financial going gets rough. My family has felt the tender touch of God's grace, blessing us over the past 25 years.

When our eldest son was born, family finances didn't appear at all promising. I'd quit my job in preparation for his arrival, and it was our desire that I would continue to care for him at home after the birth. We found ourselves living on one income, and with an adjustable rate mortgage on our home that produced steadily climbing monthly payments. But our son's birth was so harmonious and sweet with promise that we felt confident in quietly, firmly trusting that each child of God arrives with his own source of supply directly from his Father-Mother.