My career in the environmental protection field involved considerable driving. I drove not only in the United States but also in the many nations to which I traveled. Having studied Christian Science all my life, I always prayed to know that God, divine Truth, was my defense. My study of Truth was a guide and protection, not only for me but also for other travelers.
What I consider to have been one of the most pertinent protective thoughts for me over the years is the following citation from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy: “The history of Christianity furnishes sublime proofs of the supporting influence and protecting power bestowed on man by his heavenly Father, omnipotent Mind, who gives man faith and understanding whereby to defend himself, not only from temptation, but from bodily suffering” (p. 387). And the Bible has very useful reassurances, such as: “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:9). Such strong statements stayed prominent in my thinking from the time I first learned to drive.
I prayed to accept that God protects all His children.
One morning, while my wife and I were in Germany, I faced one of my toughest driving challenges. We were in a remote, snowy area, when the car slipped on a sharp curve and the two front wheels went dangling over a steep gully beside the road. I had seen no other vehicles for a long time before this incident. Immediately, I prayed to accept the truth that God protects all His children regardless of the situation and however daunting the circumstances seem. I refused to let fear or doubt disturb my thinking. My wife was praying as well.
Within moments after we began to pray for the divine guidance we needed, which we knew would come, a vehicle pulled up behind us. It was a pickup truck that “just happened” to have equipment in the back which was precisely what was needed in order to pull our car easily to safety. The kind gentleman driving the truck got my deepest gratitude and thanks. He told me he had not been planning to take this lonely route but had felt some unexplained impulsion to do so. I knew this seeming “luck” was actually God’s love and protection in action.
This seeming “luck” was actually God’s love and protection in action.
I continued my worldwide travels with a firm happiness and gratitude, knowing that God’s protective presence was with me wherever I went. I had several other inspiring experiences in succeeding years. In one case, I was driving home from a skiing trip in the US and found myself alone on a two-lane highway. The narrow road was largely covered with snow. As I recalled God’s solid protection and declared spiritual truths aloud to myself, a large truck seemed to come out of nowhere. He quickly passed me but then slowed down substantially so that I was able to drive in the path that his tires were creating. I trailed him for perhaps half an hour. Then he turned off onto a crossroad, at the exact point that the road was free of snow. The rest of my trip back to my motel was uneventful.
My firm adherence to and acceptance of the truth about man’s protection from driving dangers has kept my family and me safe several times since then as well. Over the years, our family has often thought of and rejoiced in the wonderful poem “ ‘Feed My Sheep’ ” by Mary Baker Eddy, which assures us that God, our Shepherd, will show everyone “. . . how to go / O’er the hillside steep,” and how to “. . . follow and rejoice / All the rugged way” (Poems, p. 14). When we lift our thoughts in prayer as taught in Christian Science, we find that we are protected as we travel along the “rugged way,” and are enabled to understand and prove God’s goodness in daily life.
