I live very far from work, spending a total of five and a half hours on the train commuting each day. I use this time to study the Bible Lesson in the Christian Science Quarterly and to read the Herald thoroughly. The Lesson gives me spiritual knowledge from Science and Health, and the Herald shows me how to heal problems I encounter in my daily life.
Recently, I was healed of anguish and homesickness. For many years I had wanted to return to Tokyo, where I grew up. I have many friends in Tokyo, and they kept telling me that Tokyo is a great place, and I should come back to live there. I finally told my wife and son that I would like to consider moving to Tokyo, but this met with outright opposition. My wife said she couldn't stand to live in Tokyo for more than three days, and my son said Kobe is his home. Faced with such staunch opposition, my heart craved for Tokyo all the more.
It was at such a time that I read Takashi Oka's article, "Citizenship in heaven," which was published in the April 2002 issue of the Japanese Herald. I was struck by the words. "I am never outside my own community, my own home, wherever I might be." Mr. Oka also wrote, "I am a citizen of the kingdom of heaven." After I prayed for a while, I felt uplifted. I said to myself, "Yes, of course, I am God's reflection, God's child, and so my citizenship is in heaven." I realized that such longing for a distant place comes from a narrow sentiment that is earthbound, not spiritual, in nature, This longling disappeared at once. Now, I am living each day, feeling confident that I can trust God to take care of me always.
