`Lovingkindness in the morning'

FOR several weeks all my cherished projects seemed to go awry. Every day I added more disappointments to my list. Very little in my life made sense. In fact, one morning I was so distraught I even began to wonder why I had married my husband. Then I suddenly realized that I didn't have to simply resign myself to any of this. It wasn't me. I knew better. The Bible tells us that man is made in the image and likeness of God.1 And I had learned in my study of Christian Science that His likeness is the real being of you and me and everyone. So we needn't give in to hopeless struggle, with one thing after another going wrong. We possess the God-derived authority to resist and destroy discord. Because harmony and order are qualities of God, and therefore of man as God's image, we can find well-being in every aspect of our lives.

At the absolute low of my despair, I was searching the Bible for a glimmer of comfort when I found the beautiful phrase that titles this article. After the Psalmist tells God that his spirit is failing and he doesn't want to ``go down into the pit'' (I knew just how he felt), he humbly pleads: ``Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk....for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.''2

There was something ineffably sweet about the concept of God's ``lovingkindness in the morning.'' And suddenly my own morning was brightened. I sensed the Father's presence, loving me, dissolving the frustration and small-mindedness that seemed to have hardened my heart.

Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered and founded Christian Science, writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: ``The sharp experiences of belief in the supposititious life of matter, as well as our disappointments and ceaseless woes, turn us like tired children to the arms of divine Love. Then we begin to learn Life in divine Science.'' And on the next page she says: ``Beholding the infinite tasks of truth, we pause, -- wait on God. Then we push onward, until boundless thought walks enraptured, and conception unconfined is winged to reach the divine glory.''3

How often in the preceding weeks I had felt just like one of those tired children; and how comforting it was to realize that instead of pushing humanly for things to work out as I had planned, I needed onlyto yield to God's guidance -- wait on Him -- and quietly pray to know how I might serve Him better.

In my Bible study I was reminded of Jesus' infinite patience and humility; of his constant communion with the Father; of his meek desire to do God's will. With all the people milling about seeking healing, and his enemies trying to silence his teaching and obstruct his wonderful works, the Master knew beyond question that his loving Father was always with him. And this enabled him to help countless others meet their own challenges. He said: ``Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.''4

As I lived daily with these thoughts, I was finally able to quit struggling; to shift the burden of self-will and humanlyoutlined tasks to a genuine desire to serve God better; to let the Christ -- the divine nature that Jesus so gloriously embodied -- shine through my own life.

And eventually I found that the ``burden'' of expressing more and more of the Christ was indeed ``light'' -- freeingand joy-giving. With the growing consciousness of the Father's lovingkindness greeting me every morning, frustration turned to gratitude. And disappointments yielded to fresh ways of handling my various projects until they ultimately came to harmonious fruition. (I also gained renewed appreciation for my husband and stopped blaming him for my troubles.)

So if you're facing tasks that don't mesh and aren't working, you might join the Psalmist in asking God to let you hear His ``lovingkindness in the morning.'' You'll glory in how it sounds and how it transforms self-will and frustration into spiritual joy.

1See Genesis 1:26, 27. 2Psalms 143:7, 8, 11. 3Science and Health, pp. 322, 323. 4Matthew 11:28-30. DAILY BIBLE VERSE: ...let us lay aside every weight...