Article February 23, 2009 Issue

NEVER LEFT HANGING

BY KATHLEEN MANGELSDORF

THERE IS a place for faith and hope. In spite of the present bleak economic outlook with daily news of people losing their jobs, livelihoods, and even homes, the one great provider is by our side. Our Father-Mother God never stops caring for each one of us.

Albert Einstein once said, "I want to know God's thoughts ... the rest are details" (The Expanded Quotable Einstein, Princeton University Press, 2000, p. 202). Humanity has been trained to look at the human circumstances and ask oftentimes urgent questions, such as: Why is this happening? What am I going to do? How am I going to get through this? But these questions zero in only on the details. There is another pathway of thought, which uplifts and shows the way out of any quagmire of hopelessness and loss. By focusing thought on God and His great love for His children, powerful inspirations come to light that hold the answers to every need.

A number of years ago I was propelled to put into practice this more productive thought process. For two years I was approached by a principal to come and teach in his school. I was interested, but each time he asked, I'd already signed my teacher/librarian contract for the year at some other school. Then one spring he asked me again. I'd fairly recently purchased my first home, which was closer to his school, and this seemed like an answer to prayer. So I agreed. He said he would contact me during the summer to come and sign the papers. When he did not call, I called him and I found out that he'd given that position to a student teacher. I'd already given up my job at my old school, so there I was—with no job and a big mortgage. I was in shock.