Finding a safe place

A reader sent in the below poem which she recently wrote. I was touched by the “who moved” part.

I often hear from people who feel God has deserted them, but am happy to help them see this is never the case.

God’s love for us is perpetual. Isolation and loneliness are a material sense of God that is healed as thought moves to a more spiritual view of the divine Maker, as Melissa alludes to below.


SAFE IN HIS CARE

When life’s wrinkles, error, frighten us…”who moved?”
God, or you?
When it seems like a volcano-like abyss has swallowed you whole…”who moved?”
If it seems like the very heavens have walked away
and divinity has abandoned us just for spite…”who moved?”

And yet
if we would move thought to Him
and stay there
we would see that the Father / Mother oneness is closer to us than breathing.
We would find Life / God has opened the portals of heaven to distill a benediction of Love.
We would find that safe is another name for God.

~ Melissa Baker

The easy path to follow

Last weekend, I spent time with my family up in the Blue Mountains, which are nearby. The sun was shining bright, there was blue sky galore, and warm temperatures to enjoy.

My brother brought his son by on their snowmobiles, and 6 of us headed out on five sleds to tour the hills in the glory of the beautiful weather.

Brent, my brother, a very experienced and extremely capable snowmobile operator, led our group through hills and valleys, canyons and vistas, for miles and miles out into the wilderness. I trailed the caravan ensuring no stragglers were left behind!

As I followed, I thought how easy it was to drive over a path one before has already gone down.

At times, Brent took us through dense forest with all its stumps, logs, holes, pits, streams, unexpected cavities and other uncertainties that could easily trap and ensnare the inexperienced traveler. As the leader, Brent had to stay extremely aware of what he was doing, exercise great caution, and think about everyone behind and depending upon his wisdom and decision-making to get us safely to where we needed to be. Sometimes the way was so uncertain the four of us sat still while he investigated ahead to discover what route was safe to take. Once he found a safe way out, he'd come back, get us, we’d follow, and all would be well.

I pondered how easier it is to be a follower than a leader.

I thought about Jesus Christ leading the way to heaven. He had to navigate through the treacherous waters of mortal mind, the hatred and vengeance of materialistic thinking, and the spiritual ignorance of the age in order to succeed in his mission. But succeed he did. He made it all the way to pure perfect heavenly consciousness and said, “Follow me.”

The path he trod is all laid out before us. It is clear, absolute and certain, spelled out in the Bible, the New Testament and explained in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. Like the path in the snow my brother carved ahead of us, Jesus carved a path to salvation for all to follow. And there are no obstacles in the way. None! The path is clear.

And this was the intriguing part for me to consider—no obstacles in the path!

With my brother’s trail, if we stayed on it, we were certain to keep going. If we detoured even a couple of feet off the trail at times, we might have ended up stuck, slid into a crevasse or nose-dived into a deep pit. All we had to do was stay on the path, and we would keep moving.

The same rule applies to following Jesus to heavenly consciousness. All we have to do is stay on the path he walked.

If we detour into the byways of material sense, for instance, get mired in fear, sense-testimony, andger, doubt or selfishness, or believe that disease and matter is real, we detour and get off the path. That’s when we get stuck and feel left behind. But Jesus commanded, “Follow me!” And he meant to follow him in thought, to Truth and Love, to obey the one God, to live a pure life, to strive for spiritual mindednessa and to love, love, love.

The way is clear. Jesus has laid it out plain to follow. "This is the path. Walk ye down it." He instructed.

Consider this: There are no obstacles in the path Jesus has cleared. No obstacles! Through his demonstration of Life in Spirit, and his triumph over all the claims of sin, disease and death, he has eliminated any reason for us not to succeed in our demonstration of the same. All we have to do is live the life he lived and worship the God he worshipped. Then we are set. Victory over evil is assured, and the outcome of our prayers certain.

We have much to be grateful for...

“If the disciple is advancing spiritually, he is striving to enter in. He constantly turns away from material sense, and looks towards the imperishable things of Spirit. If honest, he will be in earnest from the start, and gain a little each day in the right direction, till at last he finishes his course with joy.” Mary Baker Eddy

My group made it safely home, without incident, and had a most enjoyable time.

Ride the waves

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by bad things happening?

Perhaps you’re struggling with too many bills to pay, can’t find a job, agonize over a spouse’s angry attitude or have a boss who doesn’t care. Maybe you’re fighting a health problem?

Troubles seem to come in waves at times, wanting to flood out all sense of hope and expectancy of good from our outlook.

But don’t let despondency set in!

Rather than letting difficulty swamp your perspective with despair, ride over the waves of trouble like a surfer glides over the waves of churning twisting seething water in the ocean with his surfboard.

After the tsunami hit Asia a few years ago, I read a story about an orphanage director who saw a giant wave coming toward his orphanage on the shore of his land. Acting quickly, he got his 20 or so orphans into a little boat and as the water flooded inland the boat was lifted by the water and they rode over the top of the wave. They were all saved.

We each have a boat to jump into when waves of trouble come pounding our way. We don't have to suffer. We have a choice to make.

We can either stand on shore, watch the trouble sweep in, believe we are helpless, and then drown in the trouble. Or we can act and save ourselves from suffering. We can get into our boat, into a consciousness of Truth and Love, and be spared.

Evil is as real as we make it, or allow it to become in our thought. “The devil is a liar,” Jesus Christ taught, meaning that all of the claims of evil are lies. They are not real. To the one who believes they are real the trouble appears certain, and they suffer from their conviction until that belief is mastered.

Believing evil is real, is like standing on shore, petrified, and allowing the tsunami waves of error to sweep over one and drown all hope. It is not necessary. We are spiritual beings who can act with decisive authority to overcome evil and prove its nothingness.

But we must act. We must do something. We have to get into our boat—into a consciousness of Truth and Love—and let the boat float us over the waves of error to safety.

Don’t unnecessarily drown in the waves of error today. Step into your sanctuary of Truth and Love, and ride the storm out. It will pass. It always does.

Like a surfer gliding over the waves in joy and delight, you too, can ride over your fear of the moment and put it behind you.

God is good, and you live in the omnipresence of this goodness. A consciousness of this truth protects you and preserves you from all harm. You will survive!

The vandals didn't notice

Monday at noon I left my office to take a walk in the beautiful warm sun and snappy fall weather. As I strolled down the corridor in front of my office, a neighbor caught my attention and pointed out graffiti that had been etched into her storefront windows over the weekend. Someone with no respect for other people’s property had sketched words and logos into the glass and ruined the panes. She noted that every store on the courtyard, and some around the corner had been etched—except for mine.

As I looked around, she was right. My windows were the only ones untouched. I was silent, not sure what to say, a bit awestruck as to why I as spared. The windows cost around $2000 to replace.

I certainly didn’t gloat about my exemption from the vandalism, or feel tempted to even think that way. I was sobered. I wanted to learn a spiritual lesson.

I thought about Jesus walking harmlessly through the mob who wanted to throw him over the cliff and kill him. The angry group was so caught up into their evil way of thinking that they never noticed Jesus walk through their midst, and stroll out and away from their gathering until he was completely out of their reach, and safe.

I wondered if perhaps my office space emitted those kinds of qualities Jesus manifested that day, qualities of love and peace that the angry thought does not take note of and thus overlooks.

Or maybe they did notice my windows, but decided that it was a space to respect and honor, and thus leave alone. I do not know.

I’m still thinking on this.

The presumed guilty party rode by our office spaces on a skateboard Monday afternoon showing his art work off to a friend who wanted to see what had been done. My neighbor ran to get her camera, but was too late. He was gone by then.

I continue to pray for the peace and safety of my neighborhood. I’ve never worried in the past, and do not worry today. But there is a lesson to be learned here, and I’m still listening.

It is not a lesson that promotes self-righteousness, of one occupant being more spiritually minded than another. I don’t believe in those kinds of comparisons. We’re all loved equally and universally by the one impartial divine Love.

I think the lesson is more on the line of, “I couldn’t see evidence of vandalism on my window-panes because I don’t believe God’s child is a vandal. God made man honest, compassionate, loving and thoughtful. This kind of man does not etch his neighbor’s windows.”

What do you think?

A heartening story

A reader shared this story with me today that warms the heart and brightens hope.

I was told that the state of Maine had a large number of snowmobile fatalities last weekend, around seven. Most often, accidents result from people riding intoxicated, without their helmets or in violation of other responsible riding rules, I understand.

In one instance, though, a group of snowmobiles were trailing each other across a frozen lake, and they all made it easily to the other side, except for the last sled which was driven by a young girl. The ice broke before she reached bank, and the machine went underwater pulling her down with it. The other sled drivers ahead of her did not immediately notice.

Before she went underwater, she screamed, and it so happened that a man feeding horses nearby heard her yell. Ordinarily, he would not have been outside, but in this one case, had moments earlier decided to go outside and feed his finance’s animals. He ran to the bank, and trained in ice rescue, knew what to do to save the drowning child.

The girl, meanwhile, who was underwater, had been told internally to take off her helmet. She obeyed, and quickly discovered an air pocket in her helmet to breathe in. The rescuer, after getting another man to help, and tying a rope to his waist, made it out to the crash scene, which was quite a way out in the lake, pulled the girl from underwater, and brought her to shore alive.

When I hear stories like this, they remind me of the wisdom of staying calm in moments of crisis. God is always speaking to us, giving us the direction we need to remain safe and secure. But we mustn’t let the noise of fear and doubt shout out that voice and prevent us from hearing the divine direction that serves to save us.

Calmness enables us to hear God’s guidance and know what to do.

Our angel

Unbelievable!! Is the best word I can think of to tell this story!

I’m in the Blue Mountains with my family for Christmas break. I stay active with my practice, but break occasionally to be out and about with family and friends.

Yesterday, my son and I took a good friend out snowmobiling who had little experience on a sled, but enough that I didn’t worry about his judgments.

We zipped up to the top of a mountain with a gorgeous view and wide open meadows to spin around on. Within five minutes, I noticed my friend venturing over into what we call “no man’s land” on a long side slope of the canyon edge. It was “no man’s land” for our trail sleds because once you go a bit over the edge, you never get back up. It’s down, down, down all the way to the bottom of the canyon, and no one in our family wants to find out what happens if you ever slide that far!

Well, my friend was oblivious, and I hadn’t forewarned him. It was too late for me to reach him. I helplessly watched as he frantically tried to steer back up the hill, but to no avail. Down, down, down, he went zigzagging most of the way until he stopped dead still in a huge snowdrift just above the tree line.

I got off my sled, walked over the edge of the hill to find him, and there he was standing waist deep in snow looking miserably at his snow-sunken sled.

My son and I made our way down the hill to help. We huffed and dug and huffed and sweated and yanked and pulled for 90 minutes, and moved the sled 6 feet. No way were we going to get that sled back up the mountain side.

I stopped. I listened. I prayed.

Seeing no other option, I decided to point the sled downhill, and go all the way to the bottom, hoping for a turnaround opportunity, and the possibility of gaining enough speed to zip up the canyon wall to the top.

I paced a path downhill to leave markings to follow, because split-second decisions would be required. I got on the sled, took a huge breath, sent another prayer to heaven, started the engine, and down I went through the snowdrifts and trees. Through the grace of God I made it safely to the bottom and found a place to circle back. But right when I almost made my complete loop, I slid past a crucial turn, and wham-o, into a deep snowdrift I sunk. The sled was locked into the depths, and would not budge even slightly.

I was bummed, but not despondent.

I listened for answers. None came.

I yelled to the top of the canyon. No response.

No one knew what had happened to me. I was alone. It would be dark in an hour. I was miles from home.

There was nothing I could physically do, so I headed toward the top of the canyon, hoping to get the boys, bring them down and help me out.

I knew God’s power was there. I had nothing to fear. And I did not fear. I was expectant of getting out, totally, one way or the other. I just didn’t know how or what way!

With confidence that all was well and would be well I tromped up the hill through waist deep snow. No sooner did I exit the trees and begin my ascent, but a whiz-bang, state-of-the-art, high-tech, mighty powered machine, with the noise to match, raced out of the woods to my left zipping up the hill at an astronomical speed. I jump over a bit to avoid getting hit. The sled was a blur whipping past me, but shortly makes a sudden turn back down the hill, swooshing over from the right and stopping right smack in front of me. The rider, in his high-tech colorful garb, stands up, lifts the shield on his helmet, and I am astounded. It’s my brother!!

You have to understand that my brother is like one of the most capable and advanced snowmobile drivers in the country. He has tackled the most difficult of difficult terrains from the Pacific Northwest to the Rockies in Canada. Out of the hundreds of different places he could have been sledding this weekend, and the thousands and thousands of acres he could have been traversing in the Blue Mountains, he crosses my path exactly when I need him most. He had no previous idea I was there. None.

With a smile on his face, and not another word to add, he says to me, “Are you stuck?”

I spare him the details and point back into the woods.

He cheerfully responds, “No problem. We’ll get you out.”

He tags down his partner, and comes back a few minutes later. He builds a trail in front of my sled with his, and within 3-4 minutes, I am unstuck and sailing up the mountain side to freedom, pumping my fist in the air as I get to the top letting the other boys know we finally got the sled out of the canyon!

My brother is gone in a dash continuing his adventure. I said to my friend and my son, “That was my angel!”

And he truly was.

Unbelievable! To the human mind, I suppose, but looking back, totally believable from a spiritual point of view. God is always with us and sends us the aid we need in the form that is most helpful when we need it.

Later, I asked myself, “How could that possibly have happened? What was going on in thought that allowed that seemingly miraculous turn of events to occur?”

The best answer I have is that I never allowed my thinking to turn negative. When I first saw my friend jammed in the drift, I made a conscious decision to not allow one negative or critical thought to enter my consciousness about the incident. I was going to see only goodness, and make sure my buddy didn’t feel any kind of condemnation or burden about the accident. I was committed to loving my way through it, and accept solutions as they appeared. We all kept a very positive attitude the whole time, and were fully expectant of finding a solution somehow, someway. And we did. God sent an angel.

Thank you God!

Sinking at sea

I was told today about a 90 year old woman who was swimming in the ocean recently. She is evidently admired by many friends as a person of great faith in God’s ability to help at anytime.

While swimming, a heart problem developed and began to incapacitate her. She started to sink and knew she was in serious trouble.

Not losing her faith, she prayed for what to do. An inner voice told her to raise her arm above the surface of the water, and someone would see her.

She obeyed.

At a distance, a stranger in a boat sees her arm signaling above the water, comes to her immediate rescue, and takes her safely to shore.


After hearing this story, I thought about times over the years when I was “sinking at sea” and fast feeling hopeless. But God told me to “raise my hand for help,” and someone came to my rescue.

It’s comforting to know that we are never alone. God is always there and can help in unpredictable ways.

But we mustn't forget to raise our hand if needed!

Keep clear of death beliefs

While hiking near Yellowstone last month, a guide told my group that forest rangers were quick to clear campgrounds and hiking trails of dead animals. And periodically, campgrounds and trails that had a dead carcass would be closed for the season to protect future campers and hikers.

Closing a campground or trail for several months because of a dead animal that had been removed seemed odd to us, so we asked why? And the metaphysical implications of his answer have kept me thinking ever since.

Our leader explained that dead carcasses attract predators, and the predators can come for weeks after the event, detecting the smell of death lingering in the air for miles around even though the dead animal was gone. Unsuspecting campers and walkers could be victims. So, the forest service found it best to keep those areas cleared of people until the scent was totally gone.

I had read in a museum that a bear’s sense of smell is several times more powerful than a bloodhound’s. Wow! I thought. Smells humans think are long gone, are still present to the more acute nose.

Metaphysically speaking, I saw large lessons in this scenario. Most importantly, it’s important that we absolutely not harbor “death beliefs” in our thinking if we don’t want predators attracted to our campsite!

And by death beliefs, I mean any suggestion of lack or loss.

For example, have you ever gotten depressed or feeling hopeless and your circumstances just got worse and worse? This is a classic case of one feeling of lack attracting another, and the picture of hopelessness escalates until checked. Or, one may start to believe they are old and aging and susceptible to loss of health. One health problem occurs, then another… This is another example of one death belief attracting another. The predators of dismay, discouragement, apathy, gloom and doom, doubt, suspicion, fear, and resignation would pounce upon and annihilate hope, confidence, courage, faith, trust and fruition.

Setting up camp in a safe place

The lesson I learn from this is that we need to stay extra alert to keep our campground, or consciousness, clean of any hint of death. Any suggestion, claim or assertion of decline, lack, or loss needs to be instantly eliminated from the premises. From our thinking! And promptly replaced with the purity and wholesomeness of Life!

From a mental point of view, we can choose the site where we wish to set up our tent. And we can choose the campground of Life, where death is unknown; there are no predators to fear, and no prey to be found. Love is all.

Ship unsinkable

All the water in the world

No matter how it tried

Could never sink the smallest ship

Unless it got inside.

All the evil of the world

And every kind of sin

Could never damn a human soul

Unless we let it in.

~ Author unknown

The Stremnaya Road

Have you ever seen these pictures? They are of the Stremnaya Road in Bolivia, otherwise known as “The Road of Death.”

The incredible risks and dangers people take to drive down their chosen path is often breath-taking. I’m not sure I’m ready to jump into a pack wagon and drive it down this road! There’s no turning back…and sometimes, no place to go.

When I saw these pictures, I asked myself if this road is similar to the “straight and narrow way” Jesus told us we had to walk to find heaven. I think not, I decided. The “straight and narrow way” is not a dangerous path to pursue. It is a path of safety and protection. It’s God’s path, and He protects us and keeps us safe when we follow His will. There are unyielding “guardrails” of Truth on either side of the pathway of Life that keep our feet firmly planted on solid ground.

The path of materialism, consumerism, and sensualism are the dangerous paths to pursue, for they are fraught with untold danger that shoves us off-track morally, spiritually, and physically. The materialist is unsure about what’s coming from the other direction, and often gets pushed aside and sent over the brink when squeezed by trying circumstances.

One moral I pick up from studying these pictures is to not let mortal mind take us down a road we don’t want to go, namely, down a path of seeking success through material ways and means which yields unpredictable, uncertain and unreliable results. To remain safe, we must stick to the straight and narrow way of Spirit that is girded and governed by divine Love.

Driving down the road of Life, there will be no obstructing traffic coming from the other direction, no competition for space along the path, and no danger of slipping over the edge. Love holds our feet in place, and keeps us out of places we don’t belong.

Happy journeys!

Safety and the unknown

Sent to me by a reader...

In her classic poem “The Gate of the Year,” the poetess M. Louise Haskins penned the lines:

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:“Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown!”

The man replied:

“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

(In Masterpieces of Religious Verse, ed. James Dalton Morrison, New York: Harper and Brothers, 1948, p. 92.)

God amidst the storm

Sent to me by a reader...


Ballad of the Tempest
By James Fields

We were crowded in the cabin,
Not a soul would dare to sleep,--
It was midnight on the waters,
And a storm was on the deep.

'Tis a fearful thing in winter
To be shattered by the blast,
And to hear the rattling trumpet
Thunder, "Cut away the mast!"

So we shuddered there in silence,--
For the stoutest held his breath,
While the hungry sea was roaring
And the breakers talked with death.

As thus we sat in darkness
Each one busy with his prayers,
"We are lost!" the captain shouted,
As he staggered down the stairs.

But his little daughter whispered,
As she took his icy hand,
"Isn't God upon the ocean,
Just the same as on the land?"

Then we kissed the little maiden,
And we spake in better cheer,
And we anchored safe in harbor
When the morn was shining clear.

God is watching out for you

A friend went for a walk through the woods on a very windy evening recently. Part way down the trail a mental nudge stopped him in his tracks. He looked down and saw his shoelace untied. As he bent to string his shoes a big oak tree fell crashing across the path in front of him. He stood in awe thanking God for keeping him out of harm’s way.

God is watching out for you.

Have you ever been barely spared from disaster or loss by what you called a convenient twist of fate or favorable happenchance? There is no twist of fate, and there is no happenchance. God is an ever-present guide protecting you from danger and keeping you safe wherever you go and in whatever you do.

Heed the divine nudges when they come. Humbly listen to the angel voices when they seek attention. They are God’s means of steering you aright.