A time for trusting
At one time my husband and I purchased a new house, with more space for our growing family, before we'd sold our first house. We went forward feeling certain that it would sell quickly. But it didn't. After nine months, we had used up all our funds and couldn't keep up payments on both places.
From my study of the Bible, I knew of many accounts of God's care for His people. The children of Israel were fed in the wilderness with manna supplied by God. A widow, left without money to pay her bills and ready to give up, found resources in her own home that expanded to meet all her needs. And Jesus fed a multitude with a few fish and five loaves of bread. I knew that those accounts were not only stories from ancient times but instances of God's goodness – divine goodness that is still present today.
Those examples of God's saving care in such difficult circumstances gave us hope. So we didn't despair. In the Christian Science textbook, Mary Baker Eddy wrote: "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need. It is not well to imagine that Jesus demonstrated the divine power to heal only for a select number or for a limited period of time, since to all mankind and in every hour, divine Love supplies all good" ("Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," p. 494).
We prayed with this thought and remembered to rely on God, who is divine Love, to meet our needs, instead of on a paycheck. We continued to trust that God was caring for us and that all things are possible to God. We could not suffer or lack anything, no matter what it might be – water, energy, food, money. These spiritual truths gave us confidence to trust divine Love, knowing that no one can be limited in any way or deprived of anything he or she genuinely needs.
We also spent time listening for God's will, and praying that His will, not ours, be done. We talked with our family about being grateful for everything we had – a home, food, transportation, good schools, and one another. Although material things might have appeared missing, we had love and joy for each God-given day. We recognized that Jesus' examples of God's care proved we could experience love and renewal and learn what in life was truly valuable.
Several remarkable things began to happen. Hearing of our situation, a garage attendant at my husband's work volunteered without hesitation to lend us some money. This was an amazing kindness by someone we barely knew. Then a bank statement showed an error in our favor, and unexpected checks came in the mail. We even found money on the street. Manna, it seemed, was everywhere. Our supply of funds was soon overflowing. In a few days, on a dark rainy night, the first house sold, and the papers were signed in the morning. Our needs had been completely met – and more so.
The great lesson we learned was never to doubt God's care. Since then, remembering how Love supplied our needs, we've been able to help others.
We'd seen more evidence of the fact that, when we turn to divine Love for help, our prayer is answered. Science and Health speaks of God as "the all-hearing and all-knowing Mind, to whom each need of man is always known and by whom it will be supplied" (p. 7). That was certainly evident to us through God's loving care during that time, and since.
