One morning, while we were on holiday in the Austrian Tyrol, I decided to go for a walk. After promising my wife I would return for lunch, I followed a well-marked mountain trail alongside a rushing stream. I had attained a considerable height when suddenly the path disappeared beneath loose earth and rocks brought down by a recent avalanche. Not wishing to turn back, I decided to strike across country, expecting to rejoin the trail higher up.
The way became steeper and more difficult, until it seemed foolish to continue, but even harder to return. As I scrambled on, I was finally halted by more debris from the avalanche, so loose and on such an acute gradient that at the touch of my foot some started to slide. It seemed impossible to cross this, but where else could I go?
I began to feel concerned. Surely I would find a way down eventually, but I might be hours late, and my wife would be alarmed. For some time I had been endeavoring to realize that man is always under God's loving protection, guided by ever-present Mind. But now I felt it was time to pray in earnest. As I turned wholeheartedly to God, I recalled the hymn "'Feed My Sheep'" with words by Mrs. Eddy. It begins (Christian Science Hymnal, No. 304):
