Order in our lives
IT was nearly six o'clock in the evening, and I was finally starting home. For several months I had been caring daily for a loved parent. Waiting at home were my husband, three children, and pressing responsibilities. As I crept along in the traffic, I was wishing that I weren't so pressured with so many demands on my time. I began to pray. I wanted some order and peace in my life. I asked God for a healing thought to uplift me. The words of a hymn came to mind: ``Take from us now the strain and stress,/And let our ordered lives confess/The beauty of Thy peace.''1 That was it! I wanted the strain and stress of daily living to be removed. I wanted my life to be ordered with the peace and harmony that God mandates. Wasn't my life ordered by God? I was working unselfishly and lovingly as I cared for my family. Weren't my motives right? I wasn't seeking acclaim. I wasdoing willingly what was required of me as a wife, mother, and daughter. It had to be done, and I didn't begrudge any of it. But I needed an inner core of stillness.
When Jairus came to Christ Jesus and begged him to heal his daughter, who was near death, Jesus went with him. Then he was detained by a woman who touched his garment and was healed of a condition that had plagued her for twelve years. Jesus took the time to talk to the woman and to assure her that her healing had taken place because of her faith and that she could go, whole and in peace. He then continued on his way and restored Jairus's daughter to life.2
Jesus wasn't upset or hurried. And he never overlooked anything. Jesus was the Son of God, subject to God's will, expressing God's nature.
As I drove home, these thoughts came to me. We're so fortunate to have Jesus' words and deeds to follow!
Aren't we all children of God, made in His image, as the Bible teaches? To the world's limited view, we are flesh and bones. But our creator knows us as His spiritual offspring, expressing His nature. This is our true identity, which isn't subject to pressure but is forever at peace, and we can begin to see more of this reality expressed in our lives.
We are all created and loved by omnipotent intelligence, by the one God who is in absolute control of His universe. We can't in truth make a move without God. True thoughts come from Him alone because He is the one Mind. Our job is to listen to His direction and allow only good, Godlike thoughts to take hold in our consciousness. Harassed, pressured thoughts never come from God. They come from the false mentality that claims to be our mind, from what St. Paul termed the ``carnal mind.''3
I realized that I had been entertaining a false sense of responsibility about everyone and about everything I had to do. In a profound sense, we are God's responsibility. This doesn't mean we can simply shirk the work that is rightfully ours to do. But we should remember that God is the source of our abilities and that He cares eternally for each of His offspring. Turning to Him in prayer, we can find guidance and strength for our tasks. ``I do nothing of myself,''4 said Jesus. Neither do we!
Deity, who created us, always supports and directs us. God is working in us, and He is never tired or pressured. In truth, neither are we, because man expresses God's nature. Our capabilities originate in Him and are sustained by Him. As Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, says, ``The human capacities are enlarged and perfected in proportion as humanity gains the true conception of man and God.''5
I soon found myself singing hymns as I continued my trip home. I felt much freer about everything I had to do. I saw that I was not truly a mortal, all alone, struggling to take care of other mortals. I was God's spiritual offspring, and what I had to do was to express God-given love.
From then on, things became easier. That experience served as a lasting reminder to trust in God and let Him be at the helm, showing me what to do. I stopped fretting and began listening for God's direction. The progress continues.
Productive and peaceful activity is rightfully ours as sons and daughters of God. A sense of harmony and accomplishment comes to us as we claim our selfhood to be at one with God. Then we find His direction and order in our lives.
1Christian Science Hymnal, No. 49. 2See Mark 5:22-42. 3Romans 8:7. 4John 8:28. 5Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 258.
You can find more articles like this one in the Christian Science Sentinel, a weekly magazine. DAILY BIBLE VERSE: A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps. Proverbs 16:9
