Keeping it real, keeping us safe
I’ve been hearing about statistics concerning violence against women lately. It seems that when there are holidays or sports events that encourage heavy drinking, violence against women including rape, escalates. Hearing one of these reports on the radio last week made me start praying about safety—everyone’s.
My dad used to talk to me about how to pray if I was ever in a dangerous situation, faced by someone violent, etc. He said that I had to see the person as God’s child and not as an angry, violent person. For most of his adult life, he volunteered to go into jails and prisons to read the weekly Christian Science Bible Lesson and to share Christian Science with male inmates. His experience was profound, and it taught him that everyone is good—everyone—and they deserved to know that about themselves. I grew up hearing about so many healings—physical, emotional, and more—that happened when these men learned that God loved them and saw them as His good and precious children.
So most of my prayer the last several days has been for the safety of anyone who may be tempted to do something frightening or violent. I’ve been mentally holding to the idea that all of us are God’s expression, and that if that’s true, every one of us feels deeply our own goodness, grace, tenderness, and calm. For me, it is a powerful way to pray because it does not start with the idea that there are dangerous people out there that others must be protected against, but rather with the idea that we are all good, all loving, and all safe.
After praying like this, I got an e-mail from someone looking for a testimony they had heard on Sentinel Radio, a Christian Science radio program. After contacting the staff of the program, they generously devoted time to finding the testimony, and spirituality.com agreed to post it. It’s about a young woman in college who was forcefully tied up and shoved onto the back floor of a car. Her prayer for the man who had taken her saved them both. It’s amazing! Here’s the link: Abducted and Released
Christian Science shows us that the ultimate or real identity of mankind is spiritual, and is the direct result of divine Love/God. My prayer over this last week has shown me that keeping thought on God’s reality is the absolute best way to keep us all safe.
- Dawn-Marie
Posted on Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 at 2:54 pm | Follow responses with the RSS feedTopics: College and University, Domestic abuse, Fear, Practical Spirituality, Safety, School & College, World Issues
Wow, what an amazing testimony from Sentinel Radio! As I was reading this blog and listening to that account, I was really thinking about how sure Christian Science is. It’s sure to always bring safety and security. It’s sure to always leave you better than where you once were. It gives me the confidence to prove how sure it is for me, too. This has to be a blessing for women and men everywhere!
Thank you for your words; they are tremendous.
God Bless you!
Another example–a few years back there were snipers terrorizing the D.C. area. Officials asked for prayers for the victims and their families, but called the perpetrators ‘cowards’ and ‘evil’. The killings and fear continued until a bus driver was killed. I watched TV cameras zoom in on the wife to get her reaction and she bravely asked for prayers for the people who killed her husband. After this, there were no more shootings. An interesting series of events enabled the two men to be caught without incident–they were asleep in their car.
Society truly needs to learn what your dad taught you Dawn-Marie. As the bus driver’s wife proved, some people do understand Jesus’ teachings about loving your enemies.
Thanks for sharing this Dawn-Marie. This is a wonderful prayer to be working on. Violence and losing control seems especially true in college settings, and praying to know the true harmonious identity of all of us is needed.
Also, I just wanted to say that I am so grateful for the interview you listed here. I have heard it many times before as I was blessed to have a few years working for a Christian Science nursing facility kitchen and had many hours to myself cooking and listening to these wonderful tapes many times. I highly encourage anyone who hasn’t heard these interviews to listen to them as they are incredibly inspiring.