Traveling with the grace of God
After a busy summer, my family received a surprise invitation to go to Hawaii. My sister-in-law needed my wife’s help with a small business she was starting. It would be a working vacation for her, but one overlooking the Pacific Ocean from a high-rise condo. Of course, I was happy to go along to assist and carry the bags!
We prepared carefully for the trip, packing simply, bringing just the tools we would need. For me, this included the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, and a laptop computer—all of which made a compact but hefty carry-on bag. Our daughter, with our young granddaughter in tow, helpfully dropped us at the airport. But after they drove away, we started to check our bags at the curb and made an unhappy discovery: I did not have my wallet or picture ID. I was going nowhere, and the plane was leaving in a little over an hour.
I’ve only experienced a combination of sheer panic and abject self-deprecation a few times. This was one of them. But it also turned out to be a time to experience the enduring grace of God, good.
This was just another chance for me to see God in action.
After a few minutes of mental anguish, my wife and I decided on a plan of action. We quickly withdrew some cash from an ATM so I could take a taxi ride home and find the wayward wallet. We agreed that my wife should go ahead and board the plane, even if that meant I could not make the flight. As she proceeded to airport security, I rapidly took two flights of escalators, jogged a block with my heavy carry-on bag, then up another level to find a taxi. Thankfully, one was immediately available. I briefly explained to the driver my need to get home quickly, and we were off.
As I was riding home, I took the opportunity to quiet my thought, reduce my fear, and reaffirm the presence of Mind, to know that God—Principle, Love, Truth—was operating. The most coherent idea that came was the Lord’s Prayer with its spiritual interpretation by Mrs. Eddy, which begins: “Our Father which art in heaven, / Our Father-Mother God, all-harmonious” (Science and Health, p. 16 ). I knew my ability as an idea of God, as an expression of the one Mind, was to be in the right place at the right time, and to do the right thing at the right time. This was just another opportunity for me to see God in action.
As the taxi waited outside my house, I dashed inside and found my wallet and ID. We sped back to the airport. I could see that we were making good time. Then the traffic ahead came to a standstill. Before I could worry a moment longer, the driver took an exit ramp that was open and carefully inserted his way back into moving traffic. He maneuvered expertly into a faster moving lane, and in less than a minute we were up to speed. Yet again, another opportunity to see God’s work!
By then I had gratefully maintained the composure my prayer had provided. My wife called me to let me know of a much shorter security line to take than the one we have normally used. After a brief expression of thanks to the driver and a generous gratuity, I quickly headed back into the airport.
I got through security without incident and started jogging down each of the four moving walkways, carry-on bag clutched to my breast, for my flight’s gate, which was the farthest one down the concourse. With only a minute to spare, I saw my wife and the gate attendant getting ready for take-off. Boarding pass in hand and a bit short of breath, I made it to my seat.
As I got settled, I reviewed the series of extraordinary events that got me there, gratefully acknowledging the grace of God placing His ideas—including me—in the right place at the right time: an experienced taxi driver; the right route around stalled traffic; the right security line; the patient gate attendant; boarding the plane just in time—and without delaying the flight. I was also gratefully only short of breath for a few minutes in spite of all the running I had done.
Humanly speaking, while the odds of all these events occurring harmoniously did not seem in my favor, they still came about. In the Bible it says: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8 ). I could not have planned or demanded this situation to work out perfectly, and I know that it wasn’t luck, either—it was simply God’s gift. I believe Life, Spirit, sustained and calmed me. After that, our flight and trip to Hawaii were just as harmonious.