Bureaucracy and red tape don't have to rule

About a year and a half ago, my husband and I were trying to sell some property we owned overseas. We encountered many roadblocks, and on more than one occasion, something was left out of or misstated in documents that had to be correct in order to sell the property.

This meant going from one government office to another, sometimes having to wait for long periods, only to confront skepticism and bureaucracy. At times I felt completely at the mercy of red tape and injustice.

It became evident that there were even people who were trying to find ways to take the property from us. Things did not look good for us, and delay was getting to be an everyday thing. Even though potential buyers were interested in the property, there was always some obstacle that prevented us from going forward.

I asked God, my Father-Mother, for insight. I'd been learning that living a life in line with the deeper harmony and order that comes from God, who is divine Principle, disentangles complicated situations. I saw a lesson from the principle of music. That principle always remains the same, even when music is being played poorly. In fact, it is never more available than at those very moments to bring out the true sense of harmony and beauty.

Similarly, divine Principle and its perfection don't exist in an abstract world apart from everyday life, but enrich human life in practical ways.

I saw that Principle would never allow the delinquency of human error, ambition, carelessness, and disorder to exist with the God- created qualities of order, precision, and progress. Principle was bringing to the surface what didn't belong and making visible the honesty and fairness of the kingdom of heaven – the kingdom present right now on earth that Jesus said belonged to each of us.

I have prayed for spiritual answers many times with a book called "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of this newspaper. This statement from that book was very helpful and comforting: "The greatest wrong is but a supposititious opposite of the highest right. The confidence inspired by Science lies in the fact that Truth is real and error is unreal" (p. 368).

Understanding that the confusion we were experiencing was the supposed opposite of "the highest right" – God's law bringing forth the harmony of His kingdom – I found that it became clearer to me that disorder has no Principle, and therefore no mind or intelligence with which to operate.

This viewpoint enabled me many times to regain my calm and joy. I lived with the thought that everyone, in truth, is the innocent child of God. Slowly – with great patience, kindness, and willingness – each error in the documents was corrected.

Shortly after this, my husband received a phone call from a man who said he had looked everywhere for property to buy for a price he could afford. He was about ready to give up when he saw our property. The price was right, and soon the transaction was completed.

So if things look totally chaotic, don't despair. The justice and integrity of Principle is present, righting wrong, erasing ambiguity, clarifying all that is good.

Order my steps
in thy word:
and let not any iniquity
have dominion over me.
Psalms 119:133