While I was flying from Los Angeles to Boston overnight, my feet started to feel cold. My first thought was to condemn myself. Why had I chosen to wear sandals on the flight? Didn’t I know that the cabin can get chilly on a long trip? I started to sniffle and cough and wondered if these symptoms were leading to the development of illness.

None of these thoughts, though, helped me to claim the safety we can expect to experience based on the spiritual fact that, as the Bible says, “we live, and move, and have our being” in God, good (Acts 17:28). I was tempted to feel that the atmosphere in the airplane was a threat and that I was susceptible to catching cold. But I knew that I could instead understand the spiritual fact that I was safe and well, based on the teachings of Christian Science that our God-given health is always undisturbed. And I could know that this was true no matter the cabin temperature or my questionable footwear decisions! 

As I contemplated this truth, this thought came to me: “You cannot catch anything.” I knew this thought was the verdict from God. It was a reminder to adhere to a view of myself and my fellow passengers as children of God, Spirit, and therefore wholly spiritual. This true view gave me the moral courage to say to myself, “As Spirit’s beloved child, I can’t catch anything. God is right here with me keeping me safe, and it doesn’t matter what I’m wearing or the current temperature. I have never left the kingdom of heaven. I’m safe, right now.”