Safety on the highways
There is much discussion in the news of accidents caused by drunken driving, speeding, or adverse weather conditions. Many people have become afraid to drive , particularly on main highways or during rush hour. Is there anything individuals can do to alleviate such fear?
They can pray - understandingly affirm God's love and His care for all that He has made. This is an effective means of finding peace and safety.
Through the years our family has been protected under all kinds of driving conditions. We attribute our safety - and that of others as well - to an understanding of God and His absolute, benevolent control of all creation.
The power of God, felt through prayer, has helped us around the world. His law of good is always in operation, irrespective of time, weather, or other conditions. Our realization of this fact has protected us in a variety of circumstances over the years.
For instance, at one time in midwinter, my mother's car unexpectedly hit an ice patch and shot across two lanes of oncoming traffic before gently coming to rest in a snowbank. There was no damage of any kind.
One summer, while driving along the coastline of northern Sicily, we were driven off the side of the road by a speeding truck that jackknifed in front of us as it came around a curve. Our car stopped on a precipitous ledge overlooking the sea. There was no other turnout for miles, and nobody was hurt.
In both these instances we realized that our prayers had helped us establish a feeling of our unity with God and His perfect government.
The Bible has been a source of much inspiration to our family, particularly this passage: ''The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.'' n1 That is a promise to all of us, wherever we live.
n1 Psalms 121:8.
God is infinite Love, and He is in complete control of all that He has made. Nothing harmful, then, can really touch man. God is the source of all action, and what He produces is entirely good. Despite what our eyes and ears tell us, the true nature of God's creation is spiritual and indestructible, expressing His perfect being. In God's universe, where we truly live, there are no mistakes or hazards. Nothing is random. Everything expresses His supreme control.
How can we make this truth practical? Accidents are a product of the mistaken belief that there is a power apart from God; that He is not All and does not govern all; that His creation is haphazard. As we relinquish this belief through prayer and through living more and more in accord with divine law as expressed in the Ten Commandments and Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, human life becomes more harmonious.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes: ''Accidents are unknown to God, or immortal Mind, and we must leave the mortal basis of belief and unite with the one Mind, in order to change the notion of chance to the proper sense of God's unerring direction and thus bring out harmony.'' She goes on to say, ''Under divine Providence there can be no accidents, since there is no room for imperfection in perfection.'' n2
n2 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 424.
Christ Jesus was at peace during threatening circumstances. While others were disturbed by what the material senses told them, he saw and judged from a spiritual standpoint. His pure thought was in constant rapport with divine Mind, and the inspiration he received from God brought healing wherever he was. We all can benefit from following his example.
We need not be afraid while on the highway. We can affirm God's presence and feel His peace by acknowledging our unity with Him, as Jesus did. We can realize that there is nothing inevitable about accidents, and that man is not a statistic but the much-loved and always cared-for child of God. As we pray along these lines, we can help ourselves and others find greater safety. DAILY BIBLE VERSE Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgements are a great deep: O Lord, thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God!therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. Psalms 36:6, 7
