Toward a More Harmonious Home
IT'S not easy being from a broken home. And sometimes even a home that's not officially broken feels as if it is because of the inharmony within it. We may yearn for a dad to talk to or a mother to confide in. We may long for love. We may just long for harmonious homes with harmonious words.
Whatever our particular situation is, we can begin to learn more about our real home, our home with God, where everyone is loving, lovable, and loved. This home isn't necessarily a particular locality. It's really in thought. You could say our real home is the kingdom of heaven. And Christ Jesus taught, ``The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you'' (Luke 17:20, 21).
Having the kingdom of God within thought may sound a bit strange at first. But through the teachings of Christian Science we learn that the kingdom of God is made up of qualities such as love, peace, joy, harmony. These are a few of the qualities we can learn to cultivate within thought so that they will then be expressed in our experience.
Understanding that God is everyone's Father-Mother is important, too. The more we understand God as all-harmonious, the easier it is to let Him govern our home. When God is governing us there is only good, because He is good.
This may not be easy to accept right now, but we can learn to turn to God as Father-Mother. Turning to God in prayer doesn't require big words or elaborate thoughts. It takes humility and a willingness to listen to Him. Turning to God, we feel His all-embracing presence. Christ Jesus taught this, and knew it so well that he often referred to God as Father.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, learned of God's Father-Motherhood through studying the Scriptures and through her own daily communion with Him. She later wrote in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, ``Father-Mother is the name for Deity, which indicates His tender relationship to His spiritual creation'' (p. 332). This ``tender relationship'' is the connection you and I have with God. God and His children are inseparable. He never leaves us alone. By turning to Him, in our own individual way, we can prove this to be true.
Even though I was raised by two loving parents, there were times that I yearned for someone to understand me--for someone to be genuinely consistent in expressing love. I can see now that almost everybody sometimes feels this way while growing up. One time in particular was hard, though. My parents disagreed about something that seemed pretty serious at the time. Today I don't remember what they were upset about, but I do remember that the conflict had gone on for days. It had reached the point where neither my siblings nor I looked forward to going home.
I can remember sitting in the car with my older brother, seeing him cry for the first time. I was scared, because I felt that if he was crying, things were really bad. We were afraid that things were so bad our parents would get divorced.
That day we both turned to God. We talked with each other of God's presence and power to overcome all conflicts and to fill our home with harmony. We spent most of that day hiking in the mountains and praying and talking with each other until we found peace ourselves. When we returned home the difficulties weren't dissolved, but a few days later the conflict ended and our home was restored to its usual harmony.
Whether we're longing for a mom or dad, or simply for a happier home, we can learn to turn to God ourselves and find Him ever present, just as my brother and I did. We'll feel His nearness. He'll guide us. He'll satisfy our longings. We'll find our real home within--within thought--established by God. This can happen to us and to our parents. Then, we not only know of God's presence, but we feel Him close to us--proving that conflict can be dissolved and the kingdom of God found.