Janet skipped along the road to town. She had an important errand on her mind. In her hand she carefully clutched a long brown envelope. Inside it, Janet knew, was a large sum of money —forty-five dollars—for a bill Mother had sent her to pay.

It was early yet, so Janet lingered at the field where Jock, a brown pony, lived. He came trotting to the fence, glad to see her. She patted his head, stroking its white star, and pulled up some of the long grass on her side of the fence. Jock couldn't get his big nose through the bars and had cropped his own patch of grass quite short.

Janet ran on, her black braids swinging. She stopped to talk to a friend and again to look at the gardens where people were planting vegetables. Soon she heard the traffic roaring down the main street and came to the busy highway. Carefully, she crossed the road and walked up the street to the shop where she was to pay the bill.

Janet pushed open the heavy door and went in. Halfway to the counter she sensed that something was very wrong. Then with a scared, sick feeling, she realized she was no longer carrying the brown envelope with the money inside. It was gone!

Janet stood outside the shop, desperately wondering what to do. "I can't pay the bill," she thought, 'but I can't go home, either." Mother would be so sad, and she knew there was no more money at home for her to take to the shop.

Just then Janet remembered something from her class in the Christian Science Sunday School only the day before. The teacher had said, "Listen not only to your parents but to God." She had explained how God is always with us, that He is our heavenly Father-Mother, who helps us whenever we turn to Him. Even when we are in what seems a hopeless situation, He can help us if we trust Him.

"Well, this seems pretty hopeless," Janet moaned. "The money might be anywhere. I could have dropped it by Jock's field, in one of the gardens, or on the road. It could have been picked up by now. God will have to help me. No one else can. I've got to trust Him."

Janet remembered Mrs. Eddy's hymn about "Shepherd, show me how to go," part of which reads,

She began to pray, "Dear Father-Mother, please show me how to go and where to look. I'm ready to listen for Your voice, and I really do trust You. I know that You give us all we need, always."

Spirit, God, is ever present, and He is all there really is. Nothing is outside Him, for He fills all space. Because He is also Mind, He knows all. There's just no place for anything to get lost in His universe.

God's ideas, His children, reflect Him. So they can't lack anything. They always have all they need. When we understand this truth of Christian Science and really claim that it's true, we'll see any beliefs of loss or lack changing. It's like the sun coming out in the morning and changing the dark countryside into a scene full of light and sunshine. Christ Jesus brought Truth's sunshine with him, healing and helping wherever he went.

Janet didn't exactly hear a voice telling her what to do, but the idea came very strongly and clearly to walk back the way she had come. There were many people on the sidewalk and much traffic going by, but she walked on, taking the Bible advice: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." ^{Prov. 3:5, 6.}

Suddenly the idea came to stop and look down. She did. There in the gutter lay a brown envelope. Quickly, Janet picked it up. Inside was the money, every bit of it. Now she could pay that bill!

Overjoyed, she ran back to the shop to finish her errand.