We were trying to decide which house to buy. One had all we needed and even included and a corner office with a separate entrance. It was perfect in all ways with one exception. The owner told us that she enjoyed the house but then she confided, "To be quite frank with you, the neighbors are not too friendly." This saddened me, since I was going to be working at home and had hoped for a warm, folksy neighborhood.

My husband and I had learned to turn to God for comfort and for guidance when we faced this kind of decision. From past experiences, we had learned that prayer would bring us fresh wisdom and judgment where human reasoning fell short.

We reached out to God, who is Love. These reassuring verses from Psalm 139 comforted us: "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me" (verses 7–10).

We reasoned that since God is everywhere, we cannot get away from His presence. And since God is Love, we cannot be anywhere outside of Love's allness. Divine Love fills all space. Love couldn't be in one neighborhood more than in another, because Love isn't expressing itself in part of its creation and void in another.

We had learned in our study of Christian Science that God is also the only Mind and that man's true nature is the expression of that Mind. So it is impossible for there to be a mind that is unloving, since God is governing all true consciousness. To believe in arrogance or hatred was to believe in a mind unlike Love and a man who is not the likeness of God. We refused to believe this.

We took a look at a story in the Bible. It told about how the servant of Elisha awoke one morning to discover that the town where he and his master were staying was surrounded by horses and chariots filled with those who wanted to capture Elisha and bring him to the king of Syria, Israel's enemy (see II Kings 6:11–17). Now, this was not what you could call a particularly friendly neighborhood at that point!

The report in II Kings states that the servant said to Elisha, "Alas, my master! how shall we do?" Elisha answered, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them." And then we are told that Elisha prayed, saying "Open his eyes, that he may see."

In spite of the frightening or troubling situation that may seem to be in front of us, we can pray to have our eyes opened to what is actually present, to the spiritual truth of God's allness and power. Elisha had proved that even in the face of circumstances that would certainly seem to justify fear and cry out "we've got trouble!" he could confidently acknowledge God's ever-available help. Now his prayer awakened the spiritual sense within his servant, too, and enabled him to see God's presence. The Bible story continues, "The Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." There was no violent confrontation, and no harm came upon them. They were safe. They were loved, and so are we!

My husband and I were willing to open our eyes to see the tender love of our heavenly Father-Mother embracing everyone. We realized there might be other good reasons for us to choose one house over another, but the absence of divine Love was not a valid reason. We also knew that in addition to considering how this area would support our needs and work, we also needed to think about what we could bring to the area. I saw that I did not need to bring Love to this neighborhood. Love, God, was already there! All I needed to do was bring an understanding that God's fullness and warmth, joy and control, were being expressed right there in the heart of the neighborhood. With spiritual vision we could see what God had already established, and we could reject any suggestions to the contrary. In fact, acknowledging God's presence was one of the best ways for us to love our neighbors, as Christ Jesus taught.

The Bible promises that "perfect love casteth out fear" (I John 4:18). We affirmed in our prayers that perfect Love had already cast out any sense of being threatened or unprotected—a sense that would make others cocoon into their homes. And as Mrs. Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, states in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, "No power can withstand divine Love" (p. 224). Love's powerful presence could be seen and felt. All of our needs, not only the structural ones but also our need for proper companionship in the neighborhood, would be met. Upon this basis we bought the house.

It was a dark, rainy day when we moved in. After all the boxes were under cover and we had settled into opening them, the doorbell rang. A neighbor was standing there in his yellow rain slicker. In his hand was a bouquet of flowers—daisies. He simply smiled and said, "Welcome." Then he told us that his wife had just returned home from the hospital that day with their first child. He had taken a minute to step away from "baby duties" to introduce himself. What a beautiful picture of un-selfed love. We became fast friends.

Other friendships in the neighborhood developed, too. One time when we were on a vacation, there was flooding in our basement. A neighbor called the fire department to pump out most of the water, rented and installed a sump pump to remove the rest, and kept an eye on our house until we returned. From time to time we looked after one another's children and pets and, in small ways, took care of one another.

Clearly, Love was in the neighborhood. Love is in every neighborhood. Because our true home is in ever-present divine Love, we just can't get away from it. We only need to "open our eyes" spiritually to see God's presence.