Recently, companions and I crossed the Vatanjökull ice cap in Iceland. We had high hopes for an adventure to appreciate the tremendous glacial landscape and explore a self-supported traverse of about sixty miles. We set out under sunny skies, pulling gear in sleds, with laden backpacks, food for eight days, and expedition tents. But by the end of the first evening, the clear day devolved into a thick fog making visibility and progress tough. My thoughts seemed equally as clouded and dark.
The cloudiness persisted for the better part of the next five days, and the normal, friendly camaraderie characterizing our group of four seemed to disappear. We were finally forced to halt, establishing camp in freezing wind and snow. We seemed trapped inside our tents, but I knew that spiritual growth awaited, and began reading my pocket-sized edition of the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
It was as if divine Mind had provided a custom Christian Science Bible Lesson for me; turning pages as I was led from passage to passage, each with a theme of light and clarity. The “tent-jail” became an impromptu Christian Science Reading Room—cozy, holy, inspired, safe.
Delighted to be inspired with divine messages tailor-made for the situation, I spontaneously found this passage in Science and Health which moved my thought to a more healing, spiritual view: “ ‘Let there be light,’ is the perpetual demand of Truth and Love, changing chaos into order and discord into the music of the spheres” (p. 255). What helped me was the idea that light is the demand of Truth and Love—not my own demand—and that Truth and Love’s “enlightenment,” or understanding, was steady, effective, and always present.
I’d been experiencing gusts of human opinion, detailing all the things I wished were different. But the perpetual demand of God, of Truth and Love, opened my thought to understand God as the all-wise, all-discerning, divine cause. As God’s child, we are all always in His care, expressing the safety and joy of divine Life. Recalling the many incidents of God’s divine guidance from the Bible, I felt certain that the outcome of our trek was also in God’s hands, and would unfold in His perfect timing.
Safe in God’s spiritual universe, Truth and Love constantly radiate joy and guidance, which result in our patience and composure as we await just the right idea to meet any challenge.
I began praying to feel and see anew that God was guiding and leading us. I realized it wasn’t sunlight that we necessarily needed, or human opinion that would resolve our situation. A passage from Eddy’s writings provides a perfect summary: “Human reason is a blind guide, a continued series of mortal hypotheses, antagonistic to Revelation and Science” (No and Yes, p. 20).
Revelation and divine Science were exactly the metaphysical pillars that now uplifted my consciousness: I saw that, safe in God’s spiritual universe, Truth and Love constantly radiate joy and provide guidance, giving us the patience and composure to listen for and await just the right idea to meet any challenge.
Gently, the Christ began to transform my thinking, and I became less frustrated and pessimistic. These new revelations brought a patient humility. Rather than feeling frustrated and stuck, I began to trust God more consistently. My prayers had resulted in confidence that, because man is always at one with his divine Parent as the very expression of God, we all were reflecting the same Mind.
I felt certain that each one in our group would know when the time came to pack up the tents and move forward. I was deeply aware that we were all very much at one with God. I stopped feeling imprisoned, marveling at how the spiritualization that moves our thought and heart is often so subtle.
As self-righteousness dissolved, so did a sore in my mouth, which had appeared a few days before. My dismay about the arduous nature of the trip evaporated into joy as I appreciated being with friends and experiencing this grand adventure. Our group reconnected. Now, all I wanted was to listen deeply to divine Mind’s shepherding.
After the second night in our tent haven, there was unity of mind to pack up and head out despite the lack of visibility. We took the first steps. No sooner were our bags packed and skis on, than the clouds became more of a mist than the pea-soup fog. We saw the sunlight faintly. Step by step we rose above the clouds, gaining elevation, increasingly beholding the vast beauty of the landscape. The clear skies followed us as we ascended the last major ridge and began the descent off the glacier, encouraged by trust in God’s leading.
My conclusion from this experience is that God’s unfoldment for us is always good, and meets each need, and that God’s care is continuously available and tender. It’s also true that divine direction unfolds as we need it.
I no longer think that divine Mind has a narrated story line for the exact twists and turns of life. That would indicate a fate-driven, humanlike method. Rather, I understand that God lovingly gives exactly what we need, just as we need it. The validity of Eddy’s statement has taken on new meaning: “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” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 307). I now attempt to more clearly recognize and be receptive to the precision of this powerful shepherding from God in each step of my day.
