"What is my goal in life? What do I want to accomplish during the next half century? What is God's will for me to accomplish in eternity?" These are questions we might ask ourselves when we are at any crossroad in our human career. They help to bring right perspective to our deliberations.

While we are in high school and college we periodically have to commit ourselves to specific lines of study, and sometimes we feel inadequate to make the kinds of decisions that future developments will prove sound. Today the educational options are so numerous that we may feel bewildered—like a child in a supermarket where the shelves are packed with a thousand toys from which he may choose just one to take home.

We may believe decisions come more easily to one who has a special interest or talent—for music, perhaps, or for space exploration. Or to one who feels definite concern to help humanity find comfort and health, or who has a deep, searching interest in archaeology. "They're fortunate," we may think. "They're already halfway toward deciding which courses to take."

But in fact, the most reliable long-term decisions are made by those who have a vital, spiritual conviction of what they are destined by God to do, and a determination to let nothing divert them from doing it. This involves knowing something of the nature of God and His universe and of our own place in it.

Man is created by God to reflect Him and to express His qualities. "I have formed him; yea, I have made him," ^{Isa. 43:7;} a Bible writer intuitively represents God as saying. And Christ Jesus expressed conviction of his own reason for existing when he said, "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth." ^{John 18:37;}

We, too, should be awake to the nature of our own God-given life purpose—to bear witness to God, Truth. As Christian Science shows, we each have a place and purpose in the divine creation specifically and uniquely our own. God created His entire universe, including man, to express His nature in infinitely varied ways. This will become increasingly clear to us—and it will be increasingly demonstrated—as we pray to fulfill God's will for us and allow ourselves to be guided by Him in our human careers.

As we become more aware of our divine destiny, and assured that God will not be deprived of His witness in us, we can expect to become ever more confidently conscious of being wisely directed in our temporal lives. We will know that we are being sustained and helped onward by unerring wisdom each step of the way. We will feel that God is helping us to make right decisions—that, as Mary Baker Eddy says, "He has mercy upon us, and guides every event of our careers."^{Unity of Good, pp. 3-4;}

At school, when we have to plan our study courses, and later, when momentous choices must be made in regard to employment, we can take these steps with confidence—and wisely—if we are constantly conscious of our eternal, God-given purpose and recognize that we are not dependent merely on human reasoning to decide how best to fulfill it. If we are aware that the infinite, intelligent, creative Mind is guiding "every event of our careers," we will find we can easily distinguish between what will contribute toward their fulfillment and what will not. Our decisions will then be intelligent and lastingly satisfying.

Mrs. Eddy was one who had absolute conviction of her life purpose. Referring to the lesson she drew from the newly constructed pond in the garden of her New Hampshire home—a gift from her followers—she wrote: "As you journey, and betimes sigh for rest 'beside the still waters,' ponder this lesson of love. Learn its purpose; and in hope and faith, where heart meets heart reciprocally blest, drink with me the living waters of the spirit of my life-purpose,—to impress humanity with the genuine recognition of practical, operative Christian Science."^{Miscellaneous Writings, pp. 206-207.}

As we read the account of her human career, we can discern how our Leader was herself led at each step to fulfill her divine destiny to "bear witness unto the truth" in her own unique way. Her preparation for the discovery of Christian Science and for the subsequent purpose of impressing humanity with its practicality was not without hard labor and occasional tears. We, too, may have trials as well as triumphs, hard labor as well as joy-filled, inspired glimpses of truth as we work toward the fulfillment of our life purpose. But our courage will not droop if we remember that God is guiding us all the way. If we do our part in trusting Him and following His direction, we can be sure our careers will blossom and progress.

Naomi Price