Safe--Even When Home Alone

        In talking with a friend I hadn't seen for awhile, the conversation turned to the recent home invasions in our city.  "Now that my daughter is away at college, I've decided to buy a gun to defend myself", she told me. As I thought about this later (a concept foreign to me), it made me grateful for yet another way in which my religion has been of practical benefit in my life.

        Several years ago and for many years, my husband traveled a lot and I was home alone.  Our house didn't have a security system, and we lived in a somewhat wooded area with neighbors not what one would call close by.  Of course, I didn't have a gun, and wouldn't have wanted to shoot a burglar if someone broke into our house.

        What I did have to feel safe and have peace of mind at nights was an understanding of God's ever-presence.  The Bible says, "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations."  This is from Psalms.  To really comprehend this glorious fact of our perfect unity with our heavenly Father is to enjoy His protecting care under every conceivable human circumstance.  We can never for a moment be outside the sphere of divine Love's protecting, saving influence.  As Mary Baker Eddy writes:  "Existence, separate from divinity, Science explains as impossible."  This is from her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.

        It was this sense of being always in God's presence, feeling certain that He was in control of every aspect of my life that gave me the assurance I wouldn't even be confronted with someone trying to break in and do me harm.  It was wonderful to come and go at nights when necessary, and to be home alone, without the crippling fear and anxiety that too many women have in these times. 

        The spiritual truths I had learned from a study of Christian Science empowered me to not have to live my life in fear.  This practical understanding of God's ever-presence gave me the assurance that I was completely secure in divine Love's 24-hour a day protecting care.  For this, I will always be thankful.