Let God's waves roll in

Bringing a spiritual perspective to daily life

I love to walk along the shore of Lake Michigan and view its many faces. On summer days the golden sunlight sparkles on a deep blue carpet. Fall brings ominous dark green swells, rumbling in from a gray horizon.

I love the variety of wave patterns, sometimes roaring and angry, sometimes so calm they barely lap against the shore. But the sure thing about the waves is this: They never stop coming. Be they big whitecaps or gentle ripples, another wave is always right behind the one hitting the beach now.

It recently occurred to me that the constancy of the waves is much like God's care for us. There's never a concern that a particular wave will be the last one or that wave action will cease for a while and resume later. Every wave is followed by another, no matter how long you stand and watch.

The rhythmic succession of the waves reminded me of an experience I had some years ago when I was working a sales job during the day and attending graduate school at night. Things were fine for the first half of my studies, but it became clear that I would need financial assistance to finish.

Determined to get a student loan, I tried every bank on LaSalle Street in Chicago. This was in the days of record high interest rates, and not a single bank had any program to help me. I was afraid I'd have to quit school, and it would be very hard to resume my studies later on.

My best efforts exhausted and fruitless, I turned to God. My prayer was simple: "Dear Father, I know Your love for me is powerful and constant, and I can depend on You to open the way and show me Your plan." The force behind this prayer included a yielding of my personal outline of how events should happen and an absolute trust in God to bestow a blessing on the situation.

A few days later I was in a small suburban bank where I had a checking account, and a little pamphlet caught my eye. Yes, this tiny institution had a student loan program, but it was only for current customers, and it was soon to end. God had led me to just the right place at just the right time, and I was able to obtain the funds necessary to complete my master's degree. But the story doesn't end there.

As set up, the loan was to be paid off over five years, starting at graduation, with the interest rate set at that time. Making those payments was still going to be a stretch, but I knew God had no partial solutions, and I continued to trust His control of all events. At graduation, not only had interest rates dropped sharply, but the loan was automatically changed to a 10-year payout, dramatically reducing my monthly payments. I was actually able to pay off the loan in two years. This connection was compelling proof to me of God's constant care.

As we humbly turn to Him in prayer, we can count on God's ever-present help and can be as sure of such loving care as we are of the constancy of those magnificent waves on Lake Michigan.

The Psalmist saith:
"He shall give His angels
charge over thee."
God gives you His spiritual ideas,
and in turn,
they give you daily supplies.
Never ask for to-morrow:
it is enough that divine Love
is an ever-present help;
and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need
every moment.
What a glorious inheritance
is given to us
through the understanding
of omnipresent Love!
More we cannot ask:
more we do not want:
more we cannot have.
This sweet assurance is
the "Peace, be still"
to all human fears,
to suffering of every sort.

Mary Baker Eddy

(Founder of Christian Science)