All my life I’ve experienced different kinds of separations from very close members of my family (husband, children, mother), all of them because of different reasons. Some were planned separations, others imposed by unexpected circumstances; some were temporary, others were final. I’ve noticed that all of these experiences have compelled me to grow spiritually, to search for answers beyond matter. They have showed me that truly “trials are proofs of God’s care” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 66), because I see that suffering is not of God, and that opening our eyes to see God’s mercy helps us find healing.
In all those cases mentioned above, I needed to reorganize my human life again. There were times of great demands, spiritual study, and progress. There were times that pushed me to go deeper, to get a more spiritual understanding of family. What is its basis? How much do we allow God to govern us in our family relations? Mary Baker Eddy wrote: “There is moral freedom in Soul. Never contract the horizon of a worthy outlook by the selfish exaction of all another’s time and thoughts.… Home is the dearest spot on earth, and it should be the centre, though not the boundary, of the affections” (Science and Health, p. 58).
God’s comfort is active, joyful, expectant of good.
I’ve discovered that, in understanding who we really are as God’s spiritual ideas, we are able to continue on in an irreversible path of progress. Spiritual understanding shows us our true spiritual qualities, enabling them to naturally shine, so that we are able to bless those who are close to us. And the best part is that each one of us can appreciate the true value of family by recognizing that God is the Father-Mother of each one of us, that there is no separation between God and His ideas. Therefore, we are all part of God’s family, one with the one divine Mind. Knowing this we are able to help each other by expressing His love.
I’ve felt divine Love’s comfort in the midst of difficult and sad situations, and I’ve found myself expressing gratitude to God for loving me, taking care of me, comforting me. In the past, the word comfort had a sad connotation for me. However, I’ve realized that God’s comfort is active, joyful, expectant of good. God’s comfort unfolds our life; it’s the recognition that we can never be far away from the reach of divine goodness. To understand God’s comfort is to accept His guidance, His mercy, and all that He teaches us. His comfort gives us dominion. And this dominion allows us to resist and overcome all kinds of thoughts of sadness, poverty, pain, and limitation. It opens our thought to be receptive to the expectancy of receiving goodness in unimaginable ways.
Many times, I’ve found myself gratefully repeating the words of this poem below, found in the Christian Science Hymnal, or singing it softly, sometimes hanging on to it as to a life board helping me stay afloat in rough waters. It says in part,
Like as a mother, God comforteth His children;
Comfort is calm, that bids all tumult cease;
Comfort is hope and courage for endeavor,
Comfort is love, whose home abides in peace.
. . . .
O holy presence, that stills all our demanding,
O love of God, that needs but to be known!
(Maria Louise Baum, Christian Science Hymnal, No. 174, © CSBD)
Each member of my family has received the comfort of divine Love in different ways and according to their needs. We all have, and continue to have, the wonderful opportunity of feeling one with our Father-Mother, who shelters us, encourages us, and inspires us, knowing that “now are we the sons of God” (I John 3:2), and that now is permanent.
