Home: seeking and finding

A friend of mine was explaining the other day that house hunting always starts out as an adventure for him until he comes face to face with the facts of the real estate market.Then it seems there aren't many places to look at, and he doesn't really care to see the places that fit his budget.

It's possible, though, to preserve that sense of adventure, that thrill of search and discovery. In order to maintain the joy of house hunting and house finding it's best not to act independently of God. The Psalmist wrote, "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations." n1

n1 Psalms 90:1;

As the children of God -- as God's immortal, spiritual creation -- we're cared for by our divine Father-Mother and are given a home: eternal satisfaction and peace in Him. Finding an adequate human expression of this spiritual home requires that we listen for divine direction and become more conscious of God's qualities that mean home to us: qualitites such as love, comfort, care, power, beauty, order. These spiritual qualities are always present, always available. There's no shortage, and we don't need a mortgage for them.

We may tell the real estate broker that we need a certain number of rooms, but the really important specifications are spiritual. If we're looking for a new house or apartment, we'll find rewards in seeking new spiritual concepts about home. Perhaps it's time to see that true home isn't full of cares, but instead gives evidence of God's care for us. Or we may see that the home is not so much a shelter from evil as a force for moral and spiritual good.

The newspaper ads can give us some information. But again, divine Mind gives us the most important information. Listening to Mind, we become aware that running around blindly really isn't necessary, that our life, because it is in reality the expression of the one divine Life, God, isn't subject to chance or economic cycles. We're not under the tyranny of time; all that is truly genuine is under the control of a perfect and loving intelligence, God. What could be more reassuring!

Sometimes we need to learn that patience is a desirable spiritual quality. It's not waiting around for something -- anything -- to happen. Patience comes form a quiet, deep-rooted conviction that our lives are governed by divine Love.Therefore good will become apparent at the best time. There's often a sequence of events that needs to take place before we're ready or the place is ready, and we'll eventually see, through the beauty and order of this activity, the imprint of divine Mind and Love.

The deeper our trust in God, the more inspired are our decisions and actions. We may find ourselves letting go of preconceived notions about neighborhoods, architectural styles, or other "musts." We pursue the adventure of discovering the wonderful good God has prepared for us. As the Bible instructs, "I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go." n2

n2 Isaiah 48:17;

I like the idea that we profit by trusting in God. We find that God's provision is good. It greatly happifies our lives. Whether Christ Jesus spent the night alone in the mountains or in the house of a rich publican, he was always at home -- always in his Father's house, the consciousness of divine Love. When during our house hunting we come face to face with this spiritual reality ourselves, we'll have become house finders for sure.

The Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, writes, "Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way." n3 As we accept this divine direction, house hunting becomes a spiritual adventure, a time of spiritual discovery. Pursuing our search this way -- with God -- we find there's no opportunity for disillusionment. Indeed, what we find becomes thrilling, certain proof of God's wonderful care, for God has a place for us all.

n3 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,m p. 454.

DAILY BIBLE VERSE I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more. II Samuel 7:10