Up ahead, a tractor was parked in a field not far from the bicycle lane. The mother told her child, “Look, there is a big tractor over there!” But the child, seated so close to his father’s back, could look only at what was directly on the left or right and could not see ahead of him. Yet he continually turned his head from one side to the other looking for the tractor because he trusted what his mother had told him. A short time later, when his father’s bike was even with the tractor, the boy rejoiced, finally seeing it.

Sometimes we may not see a solution to a problem or a way out of a bad situation, or we’re looking for healing that has not yet taken place. But God, the all-knowing, already sees what human sense calls the outcome, for God knows only good, and this good is always going on.

If we put our full trust in the almighty divine Mind, God, first we will gain confidence in God’s goodness. Then, like the little boy who continued looking because he trusted what his mum said and finally could see what she was telling him, we will see tangible evidence of God’s promise of good for us, His beloved children.

The young boy kept on looking, with real expectancy. Can we do the same? Can we be as persistent and certain in our expectation of good?

At one time in my life, going through a divorce and alone with three young children, I found I needed a lot of this persistent trust in good. I had to find a new place to live, but everything nearby was too expensive, not well adapted to our family’s needs, or simply unavailable as rapidly as we needed it.

I had been praying, but limitations in my way of looking at the situation prevented me from seeing a solution. Among them were my complaints about the horrible situation my husband, who had left us, had put us in and self-pity about the fact that I was facing the problem alone (my parents lived far away at that time).

Mary Baker Eddy explains in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “Whatever influence you cast on the side of matter, you take away from Mind, which would otherwise outweigh all else” (p. 168). So there was a change that I needed to make concerning where I put the weight of my thinking. Would I continue to ruminate on the problems—on the side of matter—or would I instead strive with expectation to see my family as God sees us—not as lonely mortals, but as God’s sons and daughters, spiritual and eternally cared for?

I understood that I could trust God, who is Love, to guide me.

One Sunday, as we were driving back from church, my mother (who, along with my dad, was spending a few days with us) asked me to pick up a local newspaper because that was the day they released the property advertisements. I shook my head and told her I had done this every Sunday for the last few months, and there was never anything there for us. But she insisted, so we bought it. When we arrived home, I saw that a friend had left the advertisements page of the same newspaper at my front door with a note concerning a listing on the first page.

Sadness about my situation started to overwhelm me, so while my parents tended to the kids, I cuddled up with my duvet, praying something like, “God, I know You love my children and me, and You take care of us as Your creation.” And then an idea came to mind: Wherever we may be, God has already established the best place for us. We are always at home with God.

At that moment I gave up all my outlining of our new housing requirements, such as location, cost, size, and so on. I completely surrendered to God, fully trusting in divine Love’s care and this promise given in Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (verse 1). In the French Bible the second clause is rendered, “Je ne manquerai de rien”—“I will not lack anything.” And I was sure that God would guide us to the “green pastures” that “yet I [had] not seen” (Anna L. Waring, Christian Science Hymnal, No. 148). I felt newfound confidence in God’s promise to care for my children and me. Feeling at peace, I joined my family for a happy lunch.

In the afternoon we looked at the ads in the newspaper, having gotten a call from yet another friend alerting me to the listing on the first page. Usually on this page appeared the most select, expensive offerings. Indeed, there was a beautiful house—one I would never have dreamed of being able to afford.

Hymn 382 asks the question, “What is thy Father’s plan / For His beloved son?” (Emily F. Seal, Hymnal). The German translation of this song makes it clear: “Der Vater hat für dich / Den allerbesten Plan”—“The Father has for you the very best plan of all.”

This was a promise! I decided to stick to it. God knows.

During the evening I looked up good in a concordance to Mrs. Eddy’s writings. Many encouraging passages supported me. One that stood out and filled me with gratitude in advance for the good that God had for us was: “ ‘Good is my God, and my God is good. Love is my God, and my God is Love.’

“Beloved students, you have entered the path. Press patiently on; God is good, and good is the reward of all who diligently seek God” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 206).

The next morning I called the property agency that was offering that home to ask the price. To my great surprise, it was affordable. Although a few difficulties arose, all were overcome through prayer, and we happily moved into our “paradise,” as we called it for the 15 years we lived there, on the exact date we had to move out of our previous house. While the home was some distance from our former village, my children made new friends, and the whole situation revealed itself to be the perfect fit for our family.

At the point of greatest despair, turning wholeheartedly to God enabled me to see past limitations and feel a total confidence in God. I understood that I could trust God, who is Love, to guide me, and then I could soon see the manifestation of the goodness God already knew and was causing for us. And this was indeed the “very best plan of all.”

Whenever there seems uncertainty concerning the future, we can trust in the all-knowing Mind, which answers every need. And we find that leaning wholeheartedly on God helps us stay patient, confident, and trusting even before we bear witness to the unfolding of God’s plan.