When I wanted to switch dorms

This wasn’t what was supposed to happen. I had just made the decision to switch from being a day student to a boarding student at my high school. But when I got there, I was in a different dorm than all of my friends. I felt isolated. Despite my attempts to stay focused on the good things in my life, I had trouble accepting this disappointment.

I wanted to switch to my friends’ dorm, but the administration told me there was no space. Then, a student in the dorm with my friends asked to swap rooms with me. It was the perfect solution! Unfortunately, after I had already started to pack and had told my friends about the switch, she told me she had changed her mind. I was devastated and angry. 

That night, while I was upset and trying to fall asleep, an idea came to me to flip through a collection of Christian Science articles that I had been given at the end of my summer as a counselor-in-training at a summer camp for Christian Scientists. I flipped to an article from The Christian Science Journal titled “God’s law of adjustment” by Adam H. Dickey (January 1916). I knew reading this article would help me feel better, because it’s filled with powerful ideas that have healed many people.

As I read, one statement stood out to me: “All the power, action, intelligence, life, and government in the universe belong to God and have always belonged to Him.” I knew this meant that this situation was entirely in God’s hands­­—not mine or the other girl’s. I needed to let go of my frustration, because the situation was not mine to manipulate. I could trust in God and God’s goodness. 

I realized there was nothing for me to do but trust God—and that was enough. 

The article also helped me understand that I needed to be willing to let go of my own plans, opinions, and sense of what should happen, and that doing this would open the way for God’s law to govern the situation. I realized there was nothing for me to do but trust God—and that was enough. I was no longer frustrated or anxious. I felt God’s peaceful presence as I went to sleep.

I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and not at all concerned about the outcome of the situation. Then, I saw that I had received a text from the girl, saying that she wanted to talk. When some of my initial feelings of irritation started to come back, I reminded myself of another spiritual fact I’d learned from Christian Science—that the universal law of Love, God, never blesses one person by taking something from someone else. I knew nothing good could be taken away from me or her, because God provides infinite good in our lives. I could express God’s love and share this love with her. 

When we talked, she apologized for any trouble she’d caused. She told me she had realized that her decision had been clouded by fear. She again offered to switch rooms and was prepared to make the move. I was overjoyed that things were working out for both of us.

This experience proved to me that as I trusted God and let go of my own anxiety and fear about what would happen, not only did I experience God’s care but my rooming situation also changed for the better. I am so grateful to God for this healing experience.

AARON CRANFORD — STAFF