Harmony, even when flying at an altitude of thousands of feet

A couple days after Christmas last year, I was flying to another part of the country. During the flight, there was some commotion at the front of the plane. A flight attendant called out for a doctor or a medic. My first thought was to pray.

A thought that followed was How do I know what to pray about since I don’t know what’s going on? As I stilled my thought, these lines from Hymn 175 came clearly: “Truth divine, that overcometh all the ills that seem to be.” I held to that idea. It was pretty all-inclusive, I thought, “all the ills that seem to be,” overcome by Truth divine.

I knew that Truth was there, on that plane, or as Mary Baker Eddy writes, “His habitation high is here, and nigh” (“Mother’s Evening Prayer,” Hymn 207).

A couple passengers hurried by me on the way to the front of the plane, trying to help. I thought back to a healing I had witnessed several years before. As an assistant football coach, I was required to ride in the ambulance with a player who had blacked out on the field. I knew that no medical equipment or human examination could interfere with what God saw and knew about that child. On that occasion, the young man was released, happy and alert, without even a ride to a hospital.

On the plane, I knew that any medical examination could not interfere with the truth already known.

Next it came to me to handle fear. I was not afraid, but others in the vicinity were craning their necks and appeared fearful. I knew Truth is harmony, and that fear has no place in Truth. I continued to work with Hymn 175: “In our hearts Thy Word abiding, we may know Thee and be free.” I knew God’s Word was present and would bring freedom.

Those who had gone to the front of the plane slowly went back to their seats. The flight attendant later indicated that someone had blacked out. That person was now up and alert. The fear of those in the vicinity had abated, too. I am grateful for Christian Science and the tools we have to work out harmony for ourselves and others, even when flying at an altitude of thousands of feet.