There’s a line in Hymn 51 which has always resonated with me: “Love’s work and Love must fit”. We had a lovely experience recently where Love’s placement and timing was evidenced in a remarkable way. As so often happens, it’s in the little things of daily life that we see Love’s hand at work, bringing harmony to discordant situations.
Having had our garden furniture for many years, we felt it was time to invest in a new set. We looked online and visited various nurseries, but couldn’t find anything we liked. One morning, I headed off to a local stockist and was delighted to find just what we were looking for....or so I thought. In the showroom, the ceramic table was a pretty honey colour, which I knew would tone well with the patio and rockery stone in our garden. There and then (with my husband’s approval), I placed an order for a table, four chairs and a parasol.
However, when the order arrived a few days later, it looked nothing like the furniture I had seen in the shop....the ceramic table-top was a light grey, and the shade of the table and chairs was quite unlike what I had seen in the showroom. I could only assume that the lighting in the shop had affected the appearance and colour of the furniture. Whatever the reason, I was very upset about my purchase, but by then we had erected everything and disposed of the packaging, so it wasn’t possible to return the order.
Once I had regained a degree of composure, the thought came to me: “Mind never makes mistakes”. So I reasoned that if Mind doesn’t make mistakes, then as Mind’s idea, I couldn’t make a mistake....even with something as simple as choosing garden furniture. Instead of beating myself up about an apparently mistaken purchase, I turned the whole situation over to my Father-Mother. I recalled a few sentences from the article GOD’S LAW OF ADJUSTMENT, by Adam Dickey, where he writes, in part:
“When we understand that infinite Mind is the Ruler of the universe, that every idea of God is forever in its proper place, that no condition or circumstance can arise whereby a mistake can find lodgment in God’s plan, then we have the complete assurance that God is capable of
adjusting everything as it should be. When we are willing to give up our frightened and uncertain sense of things and let the divine Mind govern, then, and only then, shall we behold that ‘all things work together for good to them that love God’ ”.
I have to say that I was very grateful for Martin’s calm response to the situation. He was confident that the right solution would unfold, even if it meant selling the furniture on E-Bay, although we knew we wouldn’t be able to recoup the full price of the items. At this point, I recalled a line in a much-loved hymn, “He knows the angels that you need, and sends them to your side, to comfort, guard and guide”.
Suddenly, out of the blue, my husband said, “Our neighbours have a very modern house built in various shades of grey...I wonder if they’d be interested in our garden furniture? It’s worth a try!”
The rest just followed seamlessly. Martin walked down the road, spoke to the neighbours who promptly followed him back to our garden to inspect the furniture, whereupon they said they’d love to buy it, at the full price! They hadn’t been able to find any furniture for their garden, as all the shops were out of stock. We helped the young couple transport the table, chairs and parasol back to their house, and by late morning they were sitting at their new garden furniture, enjoying an “al fresco” lunch!
Soon after, we found just the right furniture for our garden, rejoicing in the truth that “what blesses one, blesses all”...not only were we blessed by this unfoldment, but our dear neighbours were delighted that their need for garden furniture had been met in the most unexpected, effortless manner!
While thinking of what to do with our original furniture, we learnt that friends of ours had none at all. Shortly after, the family collected our old garden furniture, which completed Love’s tailor-made blessing!
I am thankful that my mother found Christian Science when I was a little girl, and ever since then this “pearl of great price” has quite simply been my “strength and stay” over the decades.