God is Big in Our Lives

Mariah - The Christian Science Sentinel Oct 16, 2006

In the summer of 2005 I participated in a counselor-in-training program at a camp for Christian Scientists.

Part of the training included a five-day hiking trip in the Appalachian Mountains. Several days before our group set out, I prepared myself mentally as well as physically. I thought about these lines from a hymn in the Christian Science Hymnal: “I walk with Love along the way, / And O, it is a holy day” (Minny M. H. Ayers, No. 139). I also prayed with this quote from Science and Health:

Man is not a pendulum, swinging between evil and good, joy and sorrow, sickness and health, life and death (p. 246)

I decided I would continue thinking about these ideas throughout the trip.

The hiking turned out to be more strenuous than anyone had anticipated. In fact, by the morning of the third day, three people had dropped out and returned to the main camp. That’s when my morale reached its lowest point. But I caught myself and thought back to the Science and Health quote I’d prayed with before the trip started. I remembered that my joy could be constant because it came from God, and that I wasn’t a pendulum swinging between evil and good. I also joined in with others singing hymns as we hiked along that morning.

As I focused on prayer, my perspective totally changed. I realized it was impossible to be tired, hurt, or distressed when just the week before I had been happy and healthy. I asked myself: Can any one of us be hiking outside the presence of God? Rather than giving in to feeling resentful or fatigued, I decided to finish the hike on a positive note. If I was truly “walking with Love,” then I couldn’t feel unsupported or tired, because God’s love is always present.

Our group spent a joyful final two days finishing the hike. I was grateful for this trip because it showed me that God is always here to help—in any situation.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007 at 12:54 pm and is filed under Depression. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.