It was August in New York City and very hot. I had finished college and wanted to move to Los Angeles to work and be closer to my parents. I had just found a great apartment in LA, and I could fly to California at a big discount if I left within the week.
However, I was only halfway through a two-year lease on my New York apartment, and my landlord would not agree to break the lease unless I found another tenant. This was troubling—how could I find a tenant so quickly, especially since my apartment didn’t have air conditioning and it was the height of summer? I also had to somehow find a new home for all my furniture, which I wasn’t going to take with me, and pack and ship my other things to LA.
I felt overwhelmed and desperate, and I prayed to know that God is always in control of His universe and that He unfolds nothing but good. I sat in a window seat reading the Bible, Mary Baker Eddy’s writings, and a pile of Christian Science Sentinels and pamphlets on Christian Science. I knew this prayerful approach would shift my thought in a more spiritual direction.
One passage that was so reassuring to me at this time is where Christ Jesus says, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). God doesn’t just give us barely enough so we can squeak by or make do, He gives us the kingdom! And not just any kingdom. Jesus was talking about the kingdom of heaven, which Mrs. Eddy defines as, “the reign of harmony in divine Science; the realm of unerring, eternal, and omnipotent Mind; the atmosphere of Spirit, where Soul is supreme” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 590). It was comforting to know that I could fully trust God, the only power governing the universe—a power that had met my needs many times before. My spiritual being is forever part of His kingdom, where harmony is eternal and nothing unlike God has a place.
As I sat there praying by my wide-open window, I noticed two young women walking by looking at a newspaper. Suddenly I heard myself call down to them, “Are you looking for an apartment?” I didn’t even think about it in advance; it was an intuition. The women looked up, saw me, and said, “Yes.” I showed them my apartment, which they liked and wanted to rent. The landlord agreed to sign the lease over to them.
I was so grateful for this proof of God’s care. But that’s not all. I still had to pack up all my belongings to send to California and to dispose of my furniture. I got some empty boxes from a nearby grocery store, and as I was carrying them back home a young couple came up to me. They asked if I was moving and had any furniture to sell. I showed them what I had, and they purchased all of it and moved it out. I packed up my other things, took the boxes to the post office, and flew to Los Angeles in time to take advantage of the discount airfare.
For me, this experience removed any doubt about the goodness of God. He fills and governs all space, loves us, cares for us, and endows us with happiness and wholeness and joy. Mrs. Eddy writes, “Trials are proofs of God’s care” (Science and Health, p. 66). When we have challenges—big or small—that teach us to look away from matter and toward God, Spirit, we learn more about God and our relationship to Him and see that, indeed, He is loving and caring for us at every moment.
