SOME YEARS AGO, I was driving on a busy freeway when my car suddenly lost power. It was several miles to the next exit, so I punched the flashers on and decided to drift as far as possible. Without warning, the motor surged and then sustained a speed of 35 mph, no more, no less. Grateful I wouldn't be trudging miles in high heels, I began praying about safety for myself and for the drivers zipping around me.
Within seconds, however, my prayer took a turn. I'd been deeply distressed by news that a respected church member had left our church. He was someone I'd admired and learned much from. Creeping down the freeway, I realized that my confusion and concern about church needed healing even more than the car.
I felt a deep mental transformation take place.
I stopped praying about the car, and began praying about church. I turned away from judging the rightness or wrongness of church policies and individual decisions. Instead, I turned to God for more inspired thinking, not only about the particular situation our church had just experienced, but about the true nature and purpose of Church. Rather than clinging to human opinions, I wanted to gain fresh views about what Church is and what it does.
Instantly, spiritual inspirations flooded my thought. It was truly a case of hearing ideas beyond my own. The divine Mind was communicating directly to me. I've come to understand that Mind imparts wisdom and guidance to each of us in just the way we can best understand these divine promptings.
Within minutes, I was totally at peace. I saw that Church is first and foremost a spiritual concept blessing worshippers by uplifting everyone's thought to the discernment of God's omnipotent and omnipresent government. I saw that Church, in its spiritual, universal meaning is greater than any individual's conception of it. Church growth can't be measured by the number of members. Church as a spiritual idea is a holy power permeating individual lives, transforming, saving, and healing them. The divine concept of Church rouses each of us to better understand God.
I felt a deep mental transformation take place. The spiritual view of Church became more distinct and tangible to me. All distress left me. Moments later, the engine suddenly accelerated to full speed. I drove without incident to my destination and later drove home again, with no engine troubles. My husband took the car to a mechanic, and he checked it thoroughly. No problems. The car never had another incident as long as we owned it.
I recall this experience as God's way of getting my attention to pray and turn to divine Mind, which is greater than any mortal opinion. It showed me once again that God does govern the human realm. Yielding to spiritual views allows me to experience the divine influence in the events of everyday life.
