Traveling with Love
I spent last summer working in Boston, and I was excited to learn that one of my friends would be working in New York. I promised to visit her for a weekend.
My bus was scheduled to depart at 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon. As I left the office, my co-worker asked me to come to his desk to show me what he’d been working on. His request did not bother me, but I didn’t get back to my room to pick up my bags until 3:20.
I left my room and walked to the subway. By the time I made it to the right platform, it was 3:45. I was getting nervous about missing my bus. I texted my friend to tell her that I was worried I might not make it; she told me to just tell her when I made it on the bus. I was afraid I wasn’t going to! And if I missed the 4 o’clock bus, I’d have to wait hours to get another seat, since the route between Boston and New York is so heavily traveled.
When the subway train finally came, I found myself getting frustrated with the long ride—it was getting late, and I wasn’t even at the bus station yet. But while waiting, the thought came to me clearly to love my fellow travelers. I simply felt compelled to express love—not frustration or impatience—toward everyone around me. This idea was comforting, and I realized that expressing love was really the most important thing I could do at that time. I’d attended a Christian Science testimony meeting the previous Wednesday, and the First Reader had read this passage from First John: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear” (4:18 ). Simply thinking about the idea gave me a sense of calm. I smiled at those around me, praying to see them all as ideas of God, expressing His goodness.
As I recognized the Godlike qualities in others, it felt like a weight had been lifted. My thought was elevated, and my fear vanished. Recognizing the good that surrounded me allowed me to focus on God and His ideas. I declared silently that God had me in my right place, just as He had all of His ideas. God would guide me to wherever I needed to be—whether that was on the 4:00 bus, a later bus, or even not New York City at all.
I simply felt compelled to express love toward everyone around me.
I felt a sense of peace with those thoughts, and that’s when I remembered a quote from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy that I’d written on a sticky note and stuck to my computer a few weeks prior: “The devotion of thought to an honest achievement makes the achievement possible” (p. 199 ). I’d been feeling guilty about not leaving for the bus station earlier, and I did not want to let my friend down. But as I thought about this idea from Science and Health, I realized that doing my best to hold on to the truth of the situation—that I was loved, that I was in my right place—was directing my thought to an honest achievement. Soon, the train rolled up to my stop.
As I stepped off the train, I wanted to run to catch the bus—but I didn’t know where it would be. Again, I slowed down in order to focus and place full trust in God because I knew that He was still guiding me. All I needed to do was listen. I calmly took an elevator up to the second floor of the station and followed a man out the door to the left. I had no idea where I was, but as I looked to one side—there it was, my bus. I felt such relief. Not only did I make it on time, but it turned out that two buses were needed to accommodate everyone, and I was one of the first people to board the second bus.
I knew that the whole weekend could be this harmonious. My friend and I explored the city for two days, and with each new location I saw good unfolding. The most remarkable scene for me came from the top of Rockefeller Center. To see the city from such a height humbled me, and it reminded me that not only does God have a wonderful abundance of ideas, but He also directs them continuously. It was so clear to me that God is always in control.
