Healing motherly concerns with divine Love

I had been taught ever since I was a child in Christian Science Sunday School that there was nothing anywhere, anytime, to fear, because God is always with me. I thought I had learned this lesson well, and I really felt quite fearless in the face of life’s challenges. 

But when I started to look a little deeper in my thinking, I discovered a clamor of statements that began with “I’m afraid,” especially pertaining to my children as they grew up and became more independent. For example, “I’m afraid she won’t be safe.” “I’m afraid he won’t be able to earn a living in that career.” “I’m afraid she’ll never find a job she likes.” Or, “I wish he’d settle down and accomplish something,” which actually meant, “I’m afraid he won’t.”

Strangely enough, I hadn’t thought of this anxiety about my children’s lives as being fearful, but I now could see that it was a very subtle and pernicious form of fear. In fact, I discovered a broader underlying concern that when I was not personally in control of a situation, evil might take over. 

I was accustomed to praying daily to feel God’s presence. Now I was beginning to realize I needed to trust that God not only cares for me but also for those who are dear to me, and that none of us can ever be out of God’s presence. I have always prayed for myself and my family members, but I decided to double my efforts and cast out fear, putting my confidence in God’s, divine Love’s, perfect, unfailing government of all. Each time I caught myself being concerned about the details of someone else’s life, I stopped and prayed, often reading helpful passages from the Bible and the writings of Mary Baker Eddy. 

I have found Psalm 56 very helpful. It is quite clear in assuring us that we don’t need to be afraid. Verse 3 tells us that when we are afraid, we can totally trust in God. When we trust in God, Spirit, we can know that flesh (any seeming opposite to Spirit) is powerless to hurt us, because verse 4 says, “I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.” In verse 11, we also learn not to be afraid of what others can do to us, because we trust in God. Verse 13 speaks of total deliverance because God is capable of complete salvation for us all. It says that God will surely “deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living.”

Each time I caught myself being concerned about the details of someone else’s life, I stopped and prayed.

I also looked up the word control in Mrs. Eddy’s writings and found some wonderful thoughts that helped me trust more in God as the only cause, the only power, the one and only Mind. For example: “The evidence of divine Mind’s healing power and absolute control is to me as certain as the evidence of my own existence” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 177). This passage gave me a much better conviction of who is really in charge. I began to see what a beautiful sense of dominion comes when I trust in our heavenly Father-Mother God and stop trying to run the show. In fact, I had found that when I tried to run my own show, I was lucky if I was able to raise the curtain on the first scene!

Gradually, I replaced anxious “motherly” concerns with a sense of God’s love—the real Mother-
love—and understood that I reflect that Love. As a hymn says:

One summer many years ago, I needed to drive to the camp my teenage son was attending, which was several hours away, to pick him up, bring him home, and deliver him the next day to a tennis camp. When we arrived home, all was well. But that night he became feverish and quite ill. It was time to put into action my study and prayers about God’s parenting. And in fact, I was not afraid, and I prayed to know how to help my son allay his fear. I told him that God’s love for him never ceased and that God was always with him. I reminded him of some occasions when he had experienced God’s presence and power. I stayed with him awhile. Soon I realized that he had fallen into a normal sleep, and that the color was back in his face. In the morning, he awoke refreshed, completely well, and able to go on to his next adventure freely.

God’s love is so embracing and all-encompassing that there is truly nothing to fear. I am learning each day to trust God more and to feel Love’s presence, which dissolves fear. As we know this for ourselves, we can also declare it for our dear ones and for all mankind. The sunlight of divine Love reaches every corner of our consciousness. As the Bible declares, “Perfect love casteth out fear”
(I John 4:18).