Growing up in the 90s
Never far from home
At some point most of us face the opportunities and challenges that come with leaving home for the first time. The adventure of making our own decisions and finding our own right way is before us. At the same time, we may feel as though we've lost our anchor. Being away from family and friends and the familiarity of our home can seem unsettling.
My friend Amy wasn't even a college student—in fact, she was just in eighth grade—when she left her home in the United Kingdom to go to a boarding school in the United States. She was very close to her mom, dad, and her little sister. Even though it had been her choice to go, she still struggled with loneliness the first few days she was at the new school.
Her class began the school year with a camping trip, which gave the students an opportunity to get to know each other better before starting their academic work. Amy enjoyed making new friends, spelunking, or exploring caves, with a guide, and swinging out over the lake on the rope swing.
All the students at Amy's school attended Christian Science Sunday School, and they were striving to apply what they were learning about God to each day's activities. Each morning, the girls in Amy's cabin read together the Bible Lesson found in the Christian Science Quarterly. Amy loved the ideas from the Lesson. One of the statements that stuck with her from that week's Lesson was from the Bible: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God heth revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God" (I Cor. 2:9, 10). To Amy, this meant that it isn't the five physical senses that reassure us of all the good God gives, but spiritual sense.
One day after rest time Amy felt dizzy and weak. She told the counselor, who helped her to go see the Christian Science practitioner who had come along on the camping trip. She was there to help the children through prayer if they needed it.
As she talked about God, she began to realize how close she felt to her family when she was feeling close to God.
The practitioner gave Amy a big hug and assured her that her Father-Mother God was right there holding her in harmony and perfection. They took turns sharing their gratitude for God's goodness. Amy told the practitioner about how grateful she was for her family. And she told of several wonderful healings she had had. As she talked about God, she began to realize how close she felt to her family when she was feeling close to God. She also realized how close she felt to this nice woman who was helping her and to all of her new friends when she felt close to God. It occurred to Amy that this closeness to God was her real home and she could never really leave it. She could never be separated from love, because God is Love, and He is everywhere. She was and always would be safe and cared for—never far from home.
Soon, Amy was feeling much better. The weakness and dizziness were gone, so she and the practitioner decided to take a walk. They wound their way down to the boat dock and paddled a canoe out to the tire traversal—a series of old tires suspended above the water from a cable that went across a narrow neck of the lake. Amy showed her new friend how to swing from one tire to the next, like a monkey. To get across the narrow neck without getting wet, it was important to release the hold on one tire and reach out for the next. And in a similar way, being away from home also required a willingness to move on, but it didn't seem so easy.
On the way back to camp, Amy tried not to feel fearful at the thought of returning to her cabin all by herself. She wondered if she would be able to keep up with everyone else. She and the practitioner kept praying together. After dinner Amy felt comfortable enough to attend an orientation meeting with the other kids, and later she went to the square dance.
The next day Amy went to thank the practitioner for her help and to tell her that she wasn't feeling timid or apprehensive anymore. She took her camera with her to take a picture of her new friend so she would always have a reminder of the lesson she'd learned: It's knowing our oneness with God that keeps us feeling at home and close to those we love. Truly, we're never far from home.
