"The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21). That the discovery of God's reign of harmony is independent of place or condition has certainly been shown to me. When I received the call to enter the Army I felt no disappointment in discontinuing my other work, for I well knew the only activity man has is that of expressing the qualities of God. Army life presents a challenging opportunity to prove this where it is most helpful and needed.
I made use of the right idea of activity as soon as I reached camp and found discouragement, resentment, loneliness, fear, and insecurity being manifested by the other men. I constantly affirmed to myself the fact of God's ever-present love, support, inspiration, comfort, protection, and guidance. At the same time I spoke the thoughts which I felt would best fit the situation.
At the beginning of the second week of training, a physical problem presented itself. We had been doing a great deal of marching, and the heavy boots had caused my feet and ankles to become so swollen that just walking around the barracks was difficult. We were lined up at four o'clock one morning preparatory to making an eight-mile march. A medical verdict would have allowed me to drop out of ranks before the march, but I knew that that would be no help to me or to the other men. While we were marching I silently repeated the Lord's Prayer with its spiritual interpretation, as given in Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy (pp. 16, 17), "the scientific statement of being" (ibid., p. 468), the words of Mrs. Eddy's hymns, and other statements of truth as they came to me. Before I realized it we were at our destination. I felt more refreshed than I had for days; and my feet were giving me no trouble at all. Soon after this I was assigned the position of marching at the head of the platoon, and I was not bothered by foot difficulty or fatigue in marching again throughout the rest of the four-month training period.
