I am grateful for opportunities I have had to prove that when we listen to God’s guidance and follow it, we experience protection. One example I recall was during an event I attended as a delegate to an international meeting in a foreign country. As part of the program, we were invited to a traditional dinner prepared in clay pots. The food was delicious, and everyone was having a wonderful time.
A couple of minutes into the meal, though, the thought suddenly came to me to stop eating. It was so strong that I was uncertain whether it had been a thought or I had heard an announcement over a loudspeaker. I looked about to see if other guests were reacting to this instruction, but all were enjoying their meal. So I ignored the thought and continued to eat. Almost immediately the thought came again to put my fork down. Again I ignored it. Then the thought came to me very clearly that the food was poisonous. This was so sobering that I immediately stopped eating and started praying, as I had learned to do in my study of Christian Science.
Many uplifting ideas came to me, and I spent the rest of the meal praying quietly. Especially reassuring was a sentence from Pulpit and Press by the Discoverer of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy: “Know, then, that you possess sovereign power to think and act rightly, and that nothing can dispossess you of this heritage and trespass on Love” (p. 3).
