what really happened last Wednesday

Spiritual resource to share: surrender and soar

Have you ever hit a bureaucratic wall that seemed insurmountable? I did. On Wednesday. The end of the story is that everything was resolved - but the prayerful journey to get to that point may be helpful to any one who has ever experienced this kind of a challenge.

Two days before my son was to leave for an international trip, I realized I had made a mistake and checked it out with the airlines to correct it. I was informed that even if I did correct that one mistake he would not be allowed to board because of another new policy on passports. I had never heard of such a policy and thought I had done my research on what all the requirements were for international travel.

I was devastated. According to them, the trip was off, finished, kaput. I also knew that to resolve the passport issue at this time of record breaking demand was going to be additionally challenging. On top of that, I couldn't get a refund. I couldn't bear to share this news with my son, who had put his savings towards this trip and was so excited about it.

I have never hesitated in calling on friends for help, and so I called on a "sister bird" (code word for fellow Christian Science practitioner) to help break the gloom and doom I felt I had put myself into.

We talked about how God's plan is already fixed. Already complete. Most needed was to oust the blame and shame of past actions and get on with listening and affirming that God's will for us is all good, and we are always in our right place. With these distractions of negativity out of the way, I was open to infinite possibilities.

The next day and a half were spent on the phone, on the computer and praying. Finally, I saw a way to resolve everything but it depended on two things and the timing had to be spot on. I prayed and realized that we would only want to go forward if this was God's will. I asked God for a sign and left it at that.

On Wednesday, the day my son was supposed to leave, we got a check in the mail. I had forgotten about our state tax withholding refund. It was for $1.20 more than the cost of our now defunct plane ticket. How heartening this was! I felt confident to move forward. I knew our motive for the trip was based on goodness and unselfishness. This idea from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by MBEddy also affirmed our steps to go forward:

Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way. Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and action.

We ended up traveling to Chicago to resolve this. Again, to resolve this required two major things to happen. The first part was done by going to the airport and waiting in a few lines. Easy. But I started to wonder if the second part could be accomplished. I remembered again to surrender any doubts, fears or concerns. MBEddy writes in Science and Health another idea that was helpful:

Science reveals the possibility of achieving all good, and sets mortals at work to discover what God has already done; but distrust of one's ability to gain the goodness desired and to bring out better and higher results, often hampers the trial of one's wings and ensures failure at the outset.

Encouraged by my son, "Come on, mom, let's just try this!" we went forward with the second part. (I'll be writing another blog about this experience!) In short, it took us over 5 hours and waiting in 8 different lines to get the second part accomplished. And we did it! We were giddy and happy and let our friends overseas know of this good news that the trip, although delayed a few days, could continue and be extended. Nothing was lost!

This was a wonderful affirming experience. Any of you facing similar experiences, I know that God has only good in store for us all. It may not come in the way that we originally planned, but when we let go of our outlining and surrender all of our plans, doubts and concerns, we are open to see God's plan for us - complete, satisfying and wonderful.






To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.