“Embosomed deep in Thy dear love”
by Tom Taffel
10/10/2013
I was a teenager, living in New York City when my mother had a remarkable Christian Science demonstration. She had come from the bank with a large amount of cash in her change purse. She stopped to make a purchase. Later that evening she discovered that her small change purse was missing. It had no identification.
My mother was a Christian Science Practitioner and without hesitation, began to pray. The most comforting thought came from the Christian Science Hymnal, #134:
Embosomed deep in Thy dear love
Held in Thy law, I stand:
Thy hand in all things I behold,
And all things in Thy hand.
Thou leadest me by unsought ways,
Thou turn’st my mourning into praise.
The next day, she was lead to retrace her steps and went back to the shop where she had made her last purchase. She asked if a change purse had been found and was handed the purse, intact. It had been found on the ground…in New York City…with no identification.
Because of this wonderful demonstration of standing in God’s law, “I look to Thee in every need” speaks directly to my heart.
At this year’s Emergence International conference in Denver, I intended to read Samuel Longfellow’s entire poem, as it was the source of my healing of grief and depression, but chose instead to begin my talk: “Coming Out For Good,” singing hymn 134. I introduced the hymn by reading the last verse which I so dearly love, but I must admit, with a heavy heart.
On September 6, 2013, (opening night at the San Francisco opera house), I removed my tuxedo jacket containing my wallet, placing it on my podium for a matter of seconds while I turned my back to pick up a bottle of water. My wallet was gone!
I took all the necessary precautions – knowing all the while, that I was embosomed in God’s dear love and that “His arm encircles me, and mine, and all.”
Today, five weeks later, a United States Postal Service Priority Mail envelope arrived. Inside was my wallet with my credit card, ATM card and driver’s license intact.
Standing in God’s dear love, we are always embosomed deep in His dear love.