Trusting God, finding home

Many years ago, my husband and I (and our two dogs) were without a home for several months. While it was a very modest experience of uncertainty compared with the plight of so many around the world, it taught me a beautiful lesson about the efficacy of trusting God to provide for our needs.

Our little condo sold before we had found another place to live. While we were able to make temporary living arrangements and borrow a car, the resulting nomadic and uncertain lifestyle felt deeply unsettling to me. As there were no suitable homes in the city available in our price range, an air of hopelessness began to creep in. Discouraged and a bit frightened, I turned earnestly to God in prayer – something I’d found helpful many times before.

One of my favorite statements about trusting God was written by Mary Baker Eddy, the woman who discovered Christian Science and founded this newspaper. In 1903 she closed a brief talk by saying, “Trust in Truth, and have no other trusts” (“The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany,” p. 171). “Truth” is capitalized in that statement as a synonym for God.

What a remarkable statement: Trust solely in God, who is Truth itself, and don’t trust in anything else. Mrs. Eddy knew firsthand what it was like to trust God with everything – from health to finances to friendships – and to realize the good effects from such reliance. But her writings also make it clear this is trust based on understanding why God is trustworthy, not simply blind faith. Her study of the Bible, especially Christ Jesus’ teachings, showed her that God is a boundless source of good for His children, which includes all of us, and that a desire to better know what God sees as true and enduring helps us see more of that spiritual goodness made tangible in our daily lives.

I spent hours carefully reading the Bible, pondering what I read, listening for the mental nudge of God’s direction, and acknowledging His loving care for my family and for everyone. These lines from a favorite hymn in the “Christian Science Hymnal: Hymns 430-603” brought me great comfort:

Home is the consciousness of good
That holds us in its wide embrace;
The steady light that comforts us
In every path our footsteps trace.

Our Father’s house has many rooms,
And each with peace and love imbued;
No child can ever stray beyond
The compass of infinitude.
(Rosemary C. Cobham, alt., No. 497)

I remember reasoning that God – being infinite, unchanging good – had already prepared a place for us. Even though we didn’t know what or where our home would be, it was safe to trust our all-loving Father-Mother God with this great need.

If consciousness is the true expression of home, as the hymn says so beautifully, I saw that my role was to continue to listen for inspiration and trust God’s goodness, and keep that focus in my consciousness. If my thoughts were filled with qualities such as love and gratitude, I wouldn’t have enough mental space left for worry, which is a form of fear. I’ve found many times in my life that the active expression of love, gratitude, and other spiritual qualities results in transformation both of my mental outlook and of whatever experience I’m going through.

My husband and I strove to focus on what we were grateful for, and to listen carefully for the intuition and inspiration that comes with God’s gentle and certain direction. These prayers served to calm my thought and steady my resolve, deepening my understanding that, indeed, God was caring for us completely.

As we continued to pray with these ideas, we felt inspired to put in an offer on a particular home, even though we’d previously made an offer on it that had been rejected. This time, however, the offer was accepted and the sale terms were resolved within just a few days; a month later, we moved in. I was touched by how quickly all this happened and felt it was an affirmation of the power of prayer.

Not only did this home turn out to be a perfect spot for us, but the process of finding it confirmed for me that we are safe in God’s care; we can trust wholeheartedly in God, Truth. Fear, on the other hand, closes our eyes to possible solutions to problems. This experience has encouraged me to pray for others, particularly those facing uncertainty in finding a home of their own right here in my community and around the world.