WE WERE ON BOARD a coastal steamer gliding through the fjords of Norway enjoying the wonderful sights—snowcapped mountains, glassy dark waters, and picture-perfect fishing villages. This was neither the time nor place to feel miserable; but that's just how I felt. What to do with a headache, I wondered?
Studying seemed out of the question, and a telephone was not available to call a Christian Science practitioner for help. So, having been healed many times through prayer alone, I again turned to God. Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21). I knew this kingdom was not something I had left at home or that was stored away in the Bible or that I needed to get from another person. The kingdom of God is within—me!
The sea air was bitingly cold, but I found a chair in the sunshine and wrapped up in a blanket, coat, hat, mittens, and sat on deck. I wasn't there to stare into space and wait for the ache to disappear. No, I had work to do. Closing my eyes, I began to sing hymns silently to myself. "O gentle presence, peace and joy and power"—the opening of a hymn written by Mary Baker Eddy was the first one that came to me. It continues,
O Life divine, that owns each
waiting hour,
Thou Love that guards the
nestling's faltering flight!
Keep Thou my child on
upward wing tonight
(Christian Science Hymnal, No. 207.)
Another hymn came. It said,
O peace of the world, O hope in
each breast,
O Bethlehem star that ages have
blest,
A day of fresh promise breaks over
the land,
Gaunt warfare is doomed, and
God's kingdom at hand!
(Irving C. Tomlinson, Ibid., No. 236.)
I began to pray for peace in the world. I was on a ship with people from other countries, some of whom did not speak English at all. Yet we were able to communicate through smiles and sign language. However, I had noticed that there still seemed to be some bitterness between those from other countries. Perhaps it was left over from World War II. People who had lived through those trying times seemed to be holding on to old hatreds and strife, and I wished to see them free from their animosity.
There may have been some doubts about my forgiveness and understanding, as well. Our family had lost a son and brother in that war, and I checked my thought to see if I was completely free from any resentment. Shocked to find that I wasn't, I got busy praying to see everyone on board as a spiritual idea of God and to know there are no barriers between races, since all humanity is governed by one Mind, the divine Mind.
Mary Baker Eddy wrote in Science and Health: "The relations of God and man, divine Principle and idea, are indestructible in Science;and Science knows no lapse from nor return to harmony, but holds the divine order or spiritual law, in which God and all that He creates are perfect and eternal, to have remained unchanged in its eternal history" (pp. 470—471). I continued to pray: One idea cannot destroy, hurt, or harm another idea. Evil has no power, ever. No past, no present, no future. Divine Love wipes away all tears and fears. God is the only power. It is possible for mankind to live in peace without harboring any resentment, hatred, or false fear. God, Truth, speaks to every listening ear.
The admission to one's self that man is God's own likeness sets man free to master the infinite idea. This conviction shuts the door on death, and opens it wide towards immortality.
—MARY BAKER EDDY
An hour passed before I opened my eyes. The headache was gone, and more than just being free from physical discomfort, I was also free from the uneasiness I'd felt between my fellow passengers.
Later that day we learned of the disaster at the nuclear plant at Chernobyl in the Ukraine, and that the cloud of radiation had been heading our way, but had dissipated and passed over us. Everyone on board was quiet when they heard the news, and I'm sure they were praying in their own way. We were not aware of the impact on persons in the path of the fallout until we got home. Our reaction to this information was continued prayer and outreach to God for His loving care for all mankind.
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, US
