I am grateful for the guidance and protection which I have experienced through the study and application of the rules of Christian Science. While serving in the United States Navy during the last war, I had numerous proofs of God's ever-present guidance and protection. On one occasion I received a duty assignment which at the time seemed to be just what I wanted. Suddenly my orders were canceled, and I was given temporary duty as an instructor in one of the Navy's schools. My first thought was that this cancellation was only a delay of the work I was equipped to do. Then I turned to God for guidance, as we are taught to do in Christian Science, and soon I was given another assignment. Months later I saw how the first assignment could never have been my right place; and what had seemed to be delay turned out to be an opportunity for growth in grace.
During the early stages of the Japanese occupation it was necessary for me to travel alone from one end of the island of Kyushu to the other. Here again, turning to God for guidance, I was able to make proper train and ferryboat connections, even though I could not speak Japanese. Again, while I was returning one night from a routine trip across Kagoshima Bay, Japan, in a small Navy launch, a rainstorm had reached such proportions that we were unable to see any navigation lights or channel markers. We were particularly anxious, because we could not locate a treacherous sand bar which had given other small craft trouble on previous occasions. God's guidance was sought, and almost immediately sufficient light from the moon broke through the clouds for a period long enough to allow us to locate the sand bar, find our position, and so make our way safely back to shore.
On still another occasion while in Japan I was suffering from a cut on one of my fingers, which became so swollen and inflamed that I was unable to use my arm. There had been much talk about a few cases of blood poisoning in the area, and I found myself becoming alarmed. There was no other Christian Scientist near to whom I could turn for help. The thought of being all alone in a strange land without personal help was quickly met when I realized that God is ever present. It became evident to me that in reality man could never be separated from God, who is all-powerful and ever present, since man is the reflection of God. All fear soon disappeared, and the healing quickly followed.
