God had always been caring for me

Americans in particular have recently become aware of the importance of shelter, as they try to help evacuees from the Gulf Coast in the wake of recent hurricanes. But it’s useful to remember that finding housing is a challenge for many people worldwide. The United Nations Centre for Human Settlements estimates that 1.1 billion people currently live in inadequate housing conditions.

And according to Habitat for Humanity, more than 30 million people in the US face housing issues, including cost of living challenges, overcrowding or lack of electricity or adequate bathroom facilities. Some features that Westerners might feel are necessities might not be so relevant in other societies, but wherever they live, human beings seek out shelter that will make them feel safe, protected and comfortable. And although this can be difficult to find, it doesn’t mean they should give up.

I can speak from experience. Some years ago, our family relocated from Hawaii to northern California. Friends graciously offered to squeeze my husband and me and our three children into their small home.

The crowded conditions were an added incentive to find a place of our own. Even though my in-laws offered to help, I found nothing suitable or affordable. After weeks of searching, I felt tense and confused. Suitable housing seemed like such a reasonable request—why hadn’t God answered my prayers?

The practitioner suggested I pray with this line from Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy: “Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need” (494:10 ).It wasn’t until I asked a Christian Science practitioner to pray with me that I experienced the necessary shift in thought that led to a complete solution.

Though these were lovely words, I was at first too consumed with complaints to bask in their comfort. But as my desperation grew, I finally relented and gave them quiet consideration. And it suddenly dawned on me that all the things I thought I needed in my life—things I believed God had cruelly deprived me of—were just unnecessary wants.

It was almost a shock to look back and admit the truth: that even though I’d often felt God had been unfair, in fact God had always met my needs, often abundantly.

This new view of God’s care for me totally changed my attitude toward the house hunt. I felt released from the past and joyfully dropped a bitter attitude. From that point on, it was easy to trust that God would provide us with a home.

The book of Genesis describes God’s creating of “man”—male and female—in His likeness, spiritual and perfect. To me, perfect means complete, whole. And Mrs. Eddy further clarifies our spiritual identity in Science and Health as “including all right ideas” (475:13 ). But this wasn’t a blind trust. It was based on my growing understanding of God as all-encompassing Love. For about a year, I’d been studying the Bible and Science and Health and getting glimpses of the fact that God does care impartially and deeply for His children.

Home consists essentially of qualities that are part of our spiritual, or mental, make-up. Qualities such as rest, companionship, peace, love, privacy, purity, nourishment and harmony. We can claim and express these qualities anytime, anywhere, and can never be deprived of them, because they are constantly imparted to us from God, who is Mind.

So home is not a material structure that is unobtainable, that can fall apart or be taken away.

This change in attitude turned around my search for housing. Within a day or so, I found the perfect house for rent. The owners gave us money to build a deck, lawn and garden. The backyard gate opened to an elementary school that had a beautiful field with creative playground apparatus and a view of rolling hills. The kids happily attended that school for several years, participating in various after-school and summer activities.Relying on my new trust in God, I asked Him to show me the qualities of home I already possess within. I required myself to cherish them deeply and look for ways to better express love, peace, beauty and harmony each moment.

And during the 10 years we loved, cared for and partook of the rich offerings that house embodied, the owners never raised the rent.

As sobering as statistics are, I truly believe no one needs to be deprived of a suitable home. Each time I’ve needed to find housing over the years, I’ve discovered new ways to express the qualities I associate with home. And God has met my family’s needs with each passing year. I know the divine Mind provides loving care, unerring direction and the ways and the means to secure housing for everyone—not just for a chosen few.

Even if you don’t need housing yourself, please join me in prayer for others who do. Our prayers will help open doors for those for whom housing may be only a faded memory or a distant dream.

And for those readers who are praying to obtain housing for themselves and their familes, I can truly say trust. God already has a place for you—one that is just right. Give up your fears, and humbly listen for our Father-Mother’s guidance to a full and perfect expression of home.

Every need supplied:

King James Bible
John 14:2