Several months ago I went to a government office in the country where I live in order to obtain a document for my younger sister.

The evening before, I prayed to understand that there aren’t two minds—one mind (mine) that was going to ask another mind (someone’s at the office) for something—but there is only one Mind, which is God, that meets every need. This is what I have learned from my study of Christian Science.

The next morning, when I arrived at the office, I was informed that I wouldn’t be able to receive the document before four o’clock in the afternoon, because everyone who was authorized to sign that type of document was in a meeting, and they wouldn’t finish before three. I didn’t want to wait that long, though, because I needed to return home quickly in order to do other errands.

As I sat in the office, waiting, I continued to pray. In the Gospel according to John, Christ Jesus says, “I and my Father are one” (10:30). This passage reminded me that Christ Jesus taught that just as he was one with the Father, so are we. We are inseparable from divine Mind. Consequently, the people in the office also reflected the one Mind, and the intelligence and wisdom of this divine Mind, as did I.

Also, in an article republished in The Herald of Christian Science called “The economy of Spirit,” the author refers to “the real man,” meaning the spiritual man that God created. She writes, “… in reality, as the son of God his worth far outweighs the estimates of mortal mind” (Ruth Conklin Geggie, Sentinel, July 3, 1948). I realized that the “estimates of mortal mind,” in this case, were nothing other than what the people in the office had told me; that is, that I would not be able to have the document in a timely manner. I denied mortal suggestions and took the position that God is good, and only that which is good comes from Mind, and it is manifested without delay.

Finally, I contemplated the qualities and attributes of God, which enriched my understanding of Him. As I prayed, I strongly insisted that man reflects these qualities and attributes. For instance, His children express Mind’s diligence and alacrity in the execution of their duties. As I did, I noticed that the secretary who was working on my file was being cheerful and eager in executing her task, which was to retrieve my document and make some photocopies. 

I knew that God is at the center of everything; He is the one who impels every right action. For every step required in this process—the request for the document, the retrieval of the document, the photocopying, the signature—all action was impelled by divine Mind. Because God is Life, He is continuously expressing Himself in man in progress and right activity. And so I had the expectation that my file would be treated with care and promptness and would be delivered to me in a timely manner.

That proved to be the case. The woman who had told me the document would be ready at four o’clock in the afternoon gave it to me at eleven-thirty in the morning. Not only was my document signed, but everyone who had been told to come back after four o’clock for their documents was served at the same time I was. This experience confirmed to me several things, one of which was this truth found in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy: “In the scientific relation of God to man, we find that whatever blesses one blesses all …” (p. 206). 

I am grateful to God; to Christ Jesus, our Way-shower; and to Mary Baker Eddy for discovering Christian Science, the law of God, and showing us how we can apply God’s law successfully in every situation. I am also thankful to The Mother Church for everything that it does to provide us with tools to progress spiritually. And I’m grateful for having been able to take Christian Science class instruction, and for the ability to go to my Christian Science association meeting every year.

Kossi Rolland Zounho
Porto Novo, Benin