The garage mechanic and I both stared at the little auto part that had just fallen to the concrete floor of his shop and broken, cleanly, in two! What had begun as a simple job of putting a new gasket over the part to prevent leakage now became a minor disaster.

It was Saturday afternoon and all sources for obtaining or replacing such parts were closed. "Not a chance to get a new part until Monday," said the mechanic. "I'm afraid it's just one of those things!"

But I needed that car during the weekend, and I turned aside somewhat to hide my disturbance and annoyance over this development. I was just about to come up with some choice expressions that, no doubt, would have become an impromptu thesis on carelessness, when I checked myself and recalled—right then—that Christian Science, upon which I always relied, could provide the solution to this situation. So, instead of indulging in an impulsive tirade, I said, "Let's not allow any of 'those things' to control what's going on here!"

Picking up the two pieces, which actually fitted perfectly together because of the clean break, I (who know nothing about mechanics) asked, "Can't you go ahead and put the gasket over this and see if it will hold together just until Monday?"

In his most condescending manner my mechanic friend answered, "Not a chance," and he went into quite a thesis himself—something about too much heat building up pressure and how "the whole bloomin' thing would go to pieces!"

However, the angel thought persisted, and so did I. "But try it," I urged. "I'll be happy to reimburse you for your time—and it might just work!"

Well—he did—and it did—and the car served its needed purpose over the weekend, not the least of which was to provide necessary transportation for a Reader in a Christian Science church. A new part was obtained on the following Monday and replaced the old one. There were no ill effects at all to the car.

How prone we are to accept suggestions of helplessness! The shrugged shoulders, the turned-up palms and stretched-out fingers in that old familiar gesture of futility over any incident that would tempt us to believe in the absence of God's presence. And then, to excuse our ineptitude, that fatalistic cliché, "I guess it's just one of those things!"

This overworked claim should be handled instantly by denying it as a lie whenever it rears up! Paul had some pertinent comments to make on those anonymous entities we call "things," and they were all positive. To the Romans, he wrote, "All things work together for good to them that love God" ^{Rom. 8:28;} ; to the Corinthians, "Behold, all things are become new" and "All things are of God" ^{II Cor. 5:17, 18;} ; and he admonished the Thessalonians, "Prove all things." ^{I Thess. 5:21;} The more we love God, the more we trust Him, the more conscious we become of His presence and power.

In the letter to the Hebrews is that great statement, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." ^{Heb. 11:1;} From this new and vital view we can enrich our lives and strengthen our faith until we demonstrate, through this faith and prayer, the evidence of the true substance of "things hoped for."

Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, gives a practical and logical connotation on "things" in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures which, with the Bible, students of Christian Science throughout the world use as their textbook of metaphysics. Here she says, "Metaphysics resolves things into thoughts, and exchanges the objects of sense for the ideas of Soul." She goes on in the following paragraph, "These ideas are perfectly real and tangible to spiritual consciousness, and they have this advantage over the objects and thoughts of material sense,— they are good and eternal." ^{Science and Health, p. 269;}

This is exactly the mental process that took place in the incident given above. A "thing"—in this case the accident of breaking a piece of equipment—apparently able to bring about an erroneous effect, was resolved into the thought of proving the truth of God's loving control over all. This, in turn, resulted in practical evidence of harmony and good for all concerned. The spiritual idea refuted the claims of accident and helplessness and reversed them—or "exchanged" them—for the healing and blessing result of spiritual understanding.

Christ Jesus said, "All things are possible to him that believeth." ^{Mark 9:23;} And Science and Health affirms, "When man is governed by God, the ever-present Mind who understands all things, man knows that with God all things are possible." ^{Science and Health, p. 180.}