Placing our dog in God’s hands

I would like to share a healing of our dog that occurred last May. We have a much-loved Australian Shepherd who has brought a lot of joy to our family. About a week before Association, he began to limp and lost his appetite. I used his harness to help him walk and a spoon to encourage him to eat and drink. I prayed a lot. After a few days he seemed a little better, but then he got worse and seemed to be affected mentally, showing disorientation and growling at family members if they came near or attempted to touch him. 

The situation was frightening to me and moved me to tears. My husband and I talked about what to do with our dog. We considered calling a vet, but we both felt it was best to let him recover at home. We have a large kennel outdoors, so I was able to help him to the kennel and shut the door tight so he would be safe. 

Afterwards I sat down to pray, and Hymn 502, “I Place Them in Your Hands Dear God,” came to me. I realized that I needed to let go and totally surrender to God. For four days I had nursed and prayed for this dear dog, but God is the Healer and I had to move out of His way. I also realized that in the midst of caring for our dog, I had forgotten to attend an online lecture that a friend had invited me to. I then asked myself if it was possible for me to forget to tune into the Association Zoom meeting, which was just three days away. This really woke me up from the mesmerism I had become mired in. I immediately made a reservation to go to a hotel so I would have three nights to prepare for Association. (I had no prior plans to do this.) As I prepared to be away from home, I also cared for the dog’s needs, but I let God be God and refused to feel bad or sad about the situation, since it wasn’t true. My focus had totally changed to “Be still and know that I am God.” 

That evening when I went to the kennel, our dog looked different. He was sitting up, looking right at me with clarity and peace, and his tail was wagging. He was completely well – 100%.

There has never been a case of flu

The last couple of years have brought lots of Christian Science study and spiritual growth, for which I am grateful. I remember an Association many years ago when Skip read from some fruitage where the individual prayed with the idea that there has never been a case of stomach flu. This thought surprised me at the time. But since then, whenever a belief of disease arises in the news or seems to have much fear attached to it, I work to know that there has never been a case of such a disease. This has proven especially helpful in recent years. I have had symptoms of congestion or flu a few times, but each time the symptoms have disappeared rapidly and completely.  

In early February of this year, I woke up with symptoms of flu and extreme tiredness. I slept for a while, but by late afternoon I was no better and realized I needed to get to work in Science. I opened my Science and Health at random and read, “Because matter has no consciousness or Ego, it cannot act; its conditions are illusions, and these false conditions are the source of all seeming sickness. Admit the existence of matter, and you admit that mortality (and therefore disease) has a foundation in fact. Deny the existence of matter, and you can destroy the belief in material conditions. When fear disappears, the foundation of disease is gone” (Science and Health 368:24–32).

A couple of days earlier, I had spent several hours in a car repair waiting room, where many people were wearing masks. I wasn’t wearing a mask since there is no mandate in our state. When I left, I felt a mental heaviness and disturbance. In thinking about this, I remembered the statement, “Christian Scientists, be a law to yourselves that mental malpractice cannot harm you either when asleep or when awake” (Science and Health, 442:30). 

 I then was able to start praying for myself and wrote the following notes:

• “In Him we live and move and have our being.” Matter can make no conditions for me. Man is spiritual, not material. Matter is inert, mindless. Illness is mesmerism, not truth. It is never real, it is only aggressive mental suggestion. “Lo, I am with you alway.” I’m safe in God, Spirit. 

• “The flame shall not hurt thee.” I can walk through the flames of mortal belief and mental malpractice unharmed. I then had a vision and a feeling of walking through fiery flames with the Son of God, unharmed, untouched by the flames. Thank you, Father-Mother God. 

• “Held in God’s Law, I stand: His hand in all things I behold, and all things in His hand.” God is sustaining me and keeping me. I am safe in God’s law, divine Principle, Love. There is nothing wrong with me. God is always with me, defending and protecting me. I am not in any trouble. I am innocent, perfect, “reflected face to face,” never alone, always defended. I do the bidding of my Father. No one else can move me or affect me. I’m only touched by and sensitive to God’s angels. “Power belongeth unto God!” Mortal carnal mind is not power, but illusion.

After writing these notes, I suddenly realized that I was completely healed, completely free of any of the symptoms. So grateful for God’s goodness and love realized in the practice of Christian Science.

When Science and Health was a lifeline

When I was a first-year high school teacher, Science and Health was a lifeline. I had made the mistake of starting the year with an approach that was a bit too casual or “buddy-buddy” with the students, not nearly firm enough. I seemed to be paying quite heavily for that miscalculation. That year I relied on God daily, and often minute-by-minute, as I tried to pull into line three art classes that were constantly threatening to “go off the rails”!

I had been very thankful to secure this job, contrary to the public opinion of the day. It was certainly God impelled that I was able to get a job where I taught every second day, allowing me to also pursue a career in fine art.

At night, however, after a tough day at school, I would find myself lying in bed, unable to sleep, my thoughts replaying the events of the day over and over again. At such times, it was all I could do to get out of bed, sit in a chair, and drink in the truths found in Science and Health. It didn’t matter where I began in the book, the statements of Truth washed over me, both awakening me and calming my thought, exchanging the human history of dreams for the facts of my true nature, the true nature of my students, and of God’s love for all of us. This may seem like a little thing to others reading this, but Science and Health was a lifesaver for me.  

Recently, I heard a Sentinel Watch episode where the guest explained that we don’t learn as much about God in times of comfort as we do in times of discomfort. I gained much that year, and I was so grateful to have Christian Science to help me through it. Teaching got better and better, and that first year of learning/teaching was pivotal for the rest of my teaching career, which included a wide variety of age groups. That year also taught me to rely on Mind when making decisions as a parent of two of God’s children.

Encountering Truth in the middle of the night

At least twice in the past year or so, I woke in the middle of the night with sharp pains in my chest and back. Both times I just opened Science and Health and read whatever passages I had opened to. I don’t recall what the passages were; perhaps in the future I will try to remember or record what I read. But I can say that I obviously encountered Truth, because instantly the pains evaporated.

Most recently I was experiencing a toothache. While working on the assignment and reading the testimonies, the pain went away.

An inner voice saying “Get up and walk”

In the summer of 1995, I traveled to the Alps as one of a 35-member singing group. This was a two-week tour with near-daily performances in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It was a phenomenal experience, with a busy schedule for meals, hotels, transportation, sight-seeing, and concert-singing. 

A few days before returning to the U.S., we traveled from Innsbruck, Austria, to Lugano, Switzerland. The morning before we left, I went for a short walk. Upon returning to the hotel, I fell and severely injured my ankle. Rejecting the claim of an accident, I boarded the bus, with no one seeming to notice my difficulty walking.

We traveled that day over the Brenner Pass and Austrian Alps into northern Italy. The high mountain views were spectacular. I spent the whole day in quiet prayer, continuously acknowledging that the height, depth, beauty, harmony, safety, and care of God’s guiding presence was there for me and everyone else. The road was full tight S-curves, and the driver navigated them with great skill.  

I spent that night comfortably, though not able to walk freely. The next day was free for sightseeing. I was grateful that I had previously visited Lugano and therefore was not “missing” any of the local sights. 

Working with the Bible, Science and Health, and the Quarterly, I studied the Bible Lesson, praying as best I could, so grateful that I had my books available for help. Late in the morning I fell asleep. Waking just after noon, I heard an inner voice saying, “Get up and walk.” I removed the bed covers, put my feet on the floor, and walked firmly down the stairs to the city outside, completely free from any restriction at all! It was truly amazing. I walked clear across town, visited familiar sites, purchased some lunch, and thanked God at every step for His healing presence and care.

Seeing both of us in the context of God’s kingdom

It was some time ago, but this experience has really stayed with me. I was in college and facing a very difficult conversation with a professor about withdrawing from his course with a passing or failing mark. I was reading page 265 of Science and Health, where “a more expansive love” is linked with “a higher and more permanent peace.” It became clear to me that if I were to find the peace I needed, my sense of love needed to be expansive enough to include this professor, in spite of his unkind and unhelpful behavior.

Then I went into the meeting. It started out in the same way as before, with the same impossible set of alternatives that threatened to affect my whole academic career. But drawing on the insights I was getting from reading the Bible Lesson, I found myself quietly explaining what these alternatives meant. He suddenly understood the situation differently and completely changed his mind, saying he didn’t want to ruin my GPA. He signed the form I needed right away and the situation was resolved. Rather than seeing myself as a victim of unkindness and bad practices, I was seeing both of us in the context of God’s kingdom, and this had immediate results.

Arguing a case in the Supreme Court of Spirit

My wife and I were at a Sunday brunch for her sister’s birthday, when my wife’s mother slumped over in her chair and became unresponsive. Family members thought she was manifesting symptoms of a stroke. I immediately started to work. It seemed like an impossible situation because the family was antagonistic towards Christian Science. But I remembered, “The divine Principle which governs the universe, including man, if demonstrated, is sufficient for all emergencies” (Miscellaneous Writings 41:26–28).

One other thing I worked about was that I could not harm the thoughts of others; God was the practitioner and healer, and in knowing this everyone present would be blessed. It appeared as if there were many minds, all arguing from a sense of fear – or disease, both cause and effect, medical intervention, etc. The situation reminded me of the court case in the chapter “Christian Science Practice” in Science and Health. The prosecutor and plaintiff (Personal Sense) all argued for medical authority, disease, and possibly death. But I knew God was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Spirit, and my wife’s mom was innocent. And fear could melt away for all involved, for we were all God’s children.

A few minutes before the ambulance showed up, my wife’s mom woke up and was fully responsive. At that point, she didn’t want to go to the hospital. She was kept in the hospital overnight, waiting for results of various tests, but the medical staff couldn’t find anything wrong with her. They had no answers. But I knew it was for the glory of God.

The answer became clear

I’ve been working with the following statement on a daily basis: “The understanding that the Ego is Mind, and that there is but one Mind or intelligence, begins at once to destroy the errors of mortal sense and to supply the truth of immortal sense” (Science and Health 216:11–14). On several occasions, a realization of this fact has brought light and direction when there was a work-related question of how to proceed with an assignment. The answer became clear when thought quieted and yielded to God.

I saw myself differently

Once as I was reading all of Science and Health, I read this line in a new way: “Christ presents the indestructible man, whom Spirit creates, constitutes, and governs” (316:20–21). I thought of the word presents in its meaning of introduces. Therefore Christ, Truth, introduces me to my real, spiritual, perfect self. Then I saw myself differently. I started to become acquainted with me. As a result, I stopped smoking cigarettes and became much more dedicated and consistent in my study of Christian Science.

Holding fast to what I was seeing spiritually

About a year ago, I had a healing of impaired vision. One morning I found I couldn’t see much at all out of one eye. I didn’t call anyone for help, but decided to pray for myself with the idea that spiritual discernment is the true basis of seeing.

That day, as many times before, I was reassured by the definition of eyes in the Glossary of Science and Health: “EYES. Spiritual discernment, — not material but mental” (p. 586:3). I felt convinced that the time we’re living in is really God’s time of giving more goodness to us, not a time of being endangered or estranged from Him. I also remembered a mid-twentieth century testimony of a woman who’d been healed of several years of blindness by holding to the fact that eyes are spiritual discernment and that meant she could see, because she knew she had spiritual discernment.

I didn’t talk about my problem and I stayed quiet that day and the next – holding fast to what I was seeing spiritually. By the third or fourth day, I could see perfectly normally with both eyes.

I knew that fear (not some virus) was the prime cause of illness

Mary Baker Eddy tells us, “Trials are proofs of God’s care (Science and Health, p. 66:9–10). I don’t remember when these words of Mrs. Eddy first came to my attention – probably in high school – but I remember wondering at the time, “Does God send us trials?” I have since learned that God doesn’t send trials, but that trials are part of our experience as opportunities for growth and, most importantly, useful in teaching us valuable lessons. The healings we read in the “Fruitage” section of Science and Health provide valuable lessons about how trials have helped others in their growth and demonstration of Christian Science.

Over the past two years, national and individual trials have given us all abundant opportunities for growth. When the public media made it clear that what is now labeled the “pandemic” was a serious problem, I turned to my Christian Science class instruction as a primary source of inspiration and comfort. It occurred to me that, from a human-age perspective, I was a candidate for trouble and might have a problem. Yet in my exchanges with Skip over the years, he never took what I would describe as a “problem” very seriously, certainly not from a human standpoint. His conviction, often repeated, that “Christian Science is what is coming, not going,” provided me with a foundation to understand that there was nothing that could not be dealt with through Christian Science prayer and treatment. That thought was liberating.

Among the trials thrown at us were the various human rules and laws that told us what we must and must not do. The restrictions imposed on our daily lives and, more importantly, on our practice of Christian Science, had to be dealt with. I found a balance between the requirement to be law-abiding and the need to be courageous, particularly in the face of human-generated fear. I knew that fear (not some virus) was the prime cause of illness, and certainly I could be free and protected enough to not let fear dictate my every move. A friend who is a Christian Science practitioner reminded me that Daniel and the three Hebrew boys, while giving respect to authority, felt free enough to defy the laws imposed on them. In doing so, they overcame a den of lions and a fiery furnace. (I was sure that standing firm in my fidelity to Christian Science would not require me to endure either of those two experiences.) During the last two years, I steadfastly endeavored to confront the fear that society was continually throwing my way. As a result, I was only mildly inconvenienced and was not adversely affected.

One of the great joys in life is being a grandparent, and my wife and I are blessed with a grandson, Benny, now six years old. Prior to the pandemic, he attended our branch church’s Sunday School and was an active and eager participant. When the pandemic hit and churches shut down, children of his age were not good candidates for Sunday School behind a computer screen. One Wednesday evening while listening to the testimony meeting online, we heard an announcement that another local branch had opened its doors to live services. We contacted the clerk of that church, asking if they also had a live Sunday School. The clerk responded, “Yes, of course.” So off we went with Benny, and as a result, we have all been blessed. This opportunity has made us especially grateful for Mrs. Eddy’s provision that Christian Science branch churches be “distinctly democratic” (Manual, p. 74:5).

One of the other joys of grandparenting is the opportunity to pick up our grandson from his school where he attends first grade. One afternoon I waited for Benny in the lobby, but when he appeared he did not have his normal big smile on his face. Instead, he told me that his throat was scratchy. Behind him was a school helper who reiterated the complaint and sternly advised us to monitor Benny’s condition and keep him out of school if he had Covid.

On the ten-minute ride home, I asked Benny where God was. Demonstrating that his Sunday School experience was a real benefit, he immediately responded, “In the car.” Upon arriving home, Benny lay down on the couch and fell asleep (not his normal, active self). I sat nearby and immediately began a Christian Science treatment. I affirmed his God-derived qualities of vibrancy and health and his true immunization from any adverse effects, including the fear that seemed to surround us.

I recalled a provision in Science and Health that reminds us to handle fear. Here is the entire passage, with the portion that came to my thought in bold:

“Because a belief originates unseen, the mental state should be continually watched that it may not produce blindly its bad effects. The author never knew a patient who did not recover when the belief of the disease had gone. Remove the leading error or governing fear of this lower so-called mind, and you remove the cause of all disease as well as the morbid or excited action of any organ. You also remove in this way what are termed organic diseases as readily as functional difficulties” (Science and Health, p. 377:16).

After about an hour and a half, Benny woke up and asked for something to eat, which seemed more normal. Shortly afterwards, our daughter arrived from work and brought him home, where he ate some more. That evening, I continued to affirm Benny’s perfection and his protection from anything that could induce illness. The next morning, as reported by his mother, Benny was up and energetic and went off to school as he normally does. We are deeply grateful for this demonstration of God’s Love and the efficacy of Christian Science in our daily lives.

Turning wholeheartedly to God at each step

From last December until now, every week has been a demonstration of listening and taking one step forward. I have had no idea what will happen two steps ahead; only the next step has been visible to me and I have been led through each day. 

At the end of last year, work had almost completely burned me out, but God unexpectedly prepared the way for me to have essentially all of December off work, which allowed me to recharge. At the beginning of January, I felt led to apply to and enroll in a leadership course. In the middle of the course, I was unexpectedly promoted to a management position. Although this new position put me in a politically charged and socially awkward situation, the leadership course gave me the confidence to handle each new set of challenges.

At this point, it seems as if many of the initial hurdles at work have been overcome, but the experience has not been without tears and has required me to turn wholeheartedly to God at each step. This modification of Psalm 23 has been very helpful:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Human Resources, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my managers: thou anointeth my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

While the story is still being written, I am bringing all of God to each challenge and She is triumphing at each step.

Accidents are truly unknown

In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy offers us this remarkable thought: “Accidents are unknown to God, or immortal Mind, and we must leave the mortal basis of belief and unite with the one Mind, in order to change the notion of chance to the proper sense of God’s unerring direction and thus bring out harmony” (p. 424:5).

My wife and I recently had an opportunity to see the actuality of this statement. We had decided to sell a sailboat we had owned for some time and advertised it online. In the past, our online experience had often been less than pleasant, so for this sale we committed ourselves to treating everyone as we would want to be treated, with a sense that this was the best way to find the right buyer. We were therefore delighted when the successful buyer turned out to be a family looking for precisely what our boat offered. And since they had yet to configure one of their vehicles to tow it, we readily agreed to tow it to their house with our pickup truck – approximately a three-hour drive.

Our trip began smoothly, and all appeared to be working well until we were just a few miles from our destination, when I had a very distinct feeling that something was not right with the trailer. At that time, we were in some heavy, slow-moving traffic. While I really felt we should pull over, a thought came to just continue on slowly to our destination, which we did.

We finally pulled into the buyer’s driveway to be greeted with great smiles, which very quickly faded. What the buyers immediately saw (which we could not see from inside the truck) was that one of the trailer’s wheels was almost completely off the axle. In fact, the instant we took the weight off that wheel, it fell off.

Obviously, we were stunned and incredibly thankful that the wheel failed in their driveway and not while we were driving. As we dug deeper, we discovered that the bearings and retainer for that wheel had failed. When and where this had happened, we had no idea, but as the buyer said, “I see a whole lot of divine intervention here!”

On the drive home, I thought a lot about this experience. Was it just chance that we had made it to their driveway? If we had needed to go farther, would we have been able to successfully drive the longer distance? As a Christian Scientist, I realized this was telling me much about God’s care that I needed to learn. In some respects, I was a bit embarrassed that I had not done any prayerful preparation specifically for this trip, yet we all were protected – ourselves, the buyers, all those driving around us. What was this telling me about God’s protection?

Then I remembered the metaphysical work we had done in putting the sale of this boat on a spiritual basis – on the Golden Rule. I realized that in working to “do unto others as we would have them do unto us,” we had been reflecting divine Truth, Life, and Love – not partially, but fully. It became clear that in God’s work there is no error, and that His work can never be compartmentalized, never limited to one specific event or need; it has to bless all involved. As Mrs. Eddy states in Science and Health, “All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all” (p. 468:10–11). The Golden Rule is based on God’s infinite, eternal love for each of us, at all times – not just sometimes – and in all places and all situations. Our effort to live by the Golden Rule was not just an attempt to follow a beautiful precept, it was actively engaging and reflecting the power of divine Principle – the laws of Life, Truth, and Love. And it was this power behind the Golden Rule that had so absolutely and abundantly protected all involved that Saturday morning.

So…Had God stepped in that morning and changed the laws of metallurgy so that the wheel would hold that trailer up a bit longer until we got to the buyer’s house? And if we had needed to travel farther, would it have been divine Mind that made it hold up longer? I now knew the answers to these questions before I could even state them – and the answers were obviously “no.” In Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy offers this absolute thought: “Under divine Providence there can be no accidents, since there is no room for imperfection in perfection” (p. 424:10). And in First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany she writes, “In order to apprehend more, we must practice what we already know of the Golden Rule, which is to all mankind a light emitting light” (p. 282:13). Beyond the obvious protection, the blessing for me that Saturday was experiencing this light – actually seeing the power of these divine laws behind the Golden Rule in operation, which had “[changed] the notion of chance to the proper sense of God’s unerring direction and thus [brought] out harmony” (see Science and Health, p. 424:8).

I needed to treat myself . . . and not just wait for time to pass

I was playing with my son in a hotel pool and horsing around, when my nose suddenly hit the pool floor. I covered my face and left the pool, telling the kids I’d be back soon, and headed up to our hotel room to recompose myself. I knew I was bleeding. I cleaned up with a facecloth and then took a shower, but without any pain. I didn’t look in the mirror, and my wife helped me with bandages. Later I called an Association friend. I thought it was interesting that error would literally strike me in the face, despite all the mental work we had been doing together. But I didn’t yet realize the importance of working about/treating this situation in particular.

In the past, I’ve experienced God’s immediate relief of pain by following this statement, “Banish the belief that you can possibly entertain a single intruding pain which cannot be ruled out by the might of Mind...” (Science and Health, p. 391: 9–11). Almost two decades earlier – before I had even heard of Mr. Phinney – I was wounded by a saw and had help from a practitioner who was a student of this Association, resulting in the eradication of pain. For me, this was a milestone for handling pain. 

For several days after the pool accident, I continued my day job, including meetings, wearing bandages that didn’t cover all the scrapes on my nose. But after a well-meaning but unwise friend posted a close-up picture of me on Facebook, I felt the healing was taking too long and mortal mind was having a heyday. I realized I needed to treat myself about my appearance and not just wait for time to pass. I recalled several testimonies describing healings of burns that I’d read in the Sentinel and also our Leader’s words to Adam Dickey, “…whenever anything happens to you of an unfortunate nature, do not admit anything on the wrong side, but instantly declare that the experience does you good. Even if you should fall down and break your leg, get up and say, ‘I am the better for this experience’” (We Knew Mary Baker Eddy, Expanded Edition, Vol 2, p. 424).

I took up the case and treated myself, starting by handling fear with love, and then moving to specifics. I included the truth that the thinking of many mortals couldn’t make something more real.

I forgot about the issue. Within a day or so, all of the scabs fell off in the shower, and I could lift up my face without spot. When I went to work with a clean face, my boss commented “the healing came fast!” (We don’t usually use the word healing in the office, because the thought there is not yet open to spiritual healing.)

In reviewing this experience, the mental leadings from the Christ and the willingness to treat any issue stand out to me. Also the urgency of praying for ourselves, as we are the lights of this world.

No retrograde step in Christian Science

In March as I was walking home from town, I noticed a feeling of restriction in my chest. I took it slow going home, and then sat down and rested a while. Two months earlier, I had given a testimony of a healing of a heart attack during the night, and was wondering if this was a backward or retrograde step.

I talked to my practitioner and was told there is no retrograde step in Christian Science (see Science and Health, p. 74:29). I held to that and also to what Mrs. Eddy says, “There is but one primal cause. Therefore there can be no effect from any other cause, and there can be no reality in aught which does not proceed from this great and only cause” (Science and Health, p. 207:20–23).

Two days later, I walked to the library a block away – no problem. Then I decided to walk to the CVS store on the other end of town and back – no trouble at all. Then came the snowstorm, and I easily shoveled the 12-inch-deep snow without having to stop and rest, which I usually do. Mrs. Eddy says, “The human thought must free itself from self-imposed materiality and bondage,” and I did (Science and Health, p. 191:16–17).

A healing that made me want to sing praise to God

Recently I had a healing that made me want to sing praise to God. During the day, an internal pain developed, which I tolerated. But by evening, I was in so much pain that I could not continue the tasks I was doing. I realized it was time to turn away from wondering about the pain and reacting to it, and instead to turn solely to God, to the actual truth of being that Christian Science opens up for us. My husband, upon seeing my situation, immediately stopped what he was doing and began praying silently.

The moment I made a wholehearted effort to turn only to God, I felt supported with an abundance of divine ideas. These ideas came with grace and order, in a way that I could hear, accept, and act on. Many of the ideas came directly from that week’s Bible Lesson, titled “Substance.” I also remembered this guidance in Science and Health: “When the illusion of sickness or sin tempts you, cling steadfastly to God and His idea. Allow nothing but His likeness to abide in your thought” (p. 495:14–16). So, I obeyed and clung to God. I considered how God, Spirit, is the only actual substance, and that I reflect this spiritual substance as God’s likeness. I realized that I could trust that God’s goodness is the only substance, and this deflated the worry about unfamiliar pain, posing as substance.

I went through the synonyms of God and loved how they brought definition to my understanding of substance. For example, it had been tempting to wonder what was causing the pain and where it could lead, but the idea of substance as divine Principle assured me that God was steadfastly upholding me and all every moment; that the goodness, harmony, and purity of God’s substance, and therefore my substance as God’s likeness, is unbreakable law. Because divine Principle is Love, I saw that Principle upholds all Its ideas lovingly, without pain, and that this divine Love casts out fear, as the Bible declares. I realized that as Love’s likeness, I could have no fear, and that as divine Mind’s likeness, I always reflect what divine Mind is knowing about substance. None of this was an academic exercise; I was tangibly leaning on these truths and losing belief in anything that was not of God, of Principle, of Love.

The ideas that came about divine Mind and infinite Love reminded me that all of us – those in Ukraine, in Russia, in Europe, everywhere – are upheld by this same, everywhere-present Love. I recalled an article that I had read that morning titled “How Strife May Be Stilled,” which Mary Baker Eddy wrote for The Boston Globe during a time of war in 1904. She wrote, “The First Commandment…obeyed, is sufficient to still all strife” (Miscellany, p. 279:11–13). And so I strove in those moments to obey the First Commandment and have no other gods but God, but Love, Truth, Spirit.

I then listened to the recording of the Bible Lesson, which felt like a wonderful reaffirmation of all the prayers that had been coming to me. The recording ended with Hymn 470 from the Christian Science Hymnal, which begins, “Faith grasps the blessing she desires,/ Hope points the upward gaze;/ And Love, celestial Love, inspires/ The eloquence of praise,” and ends with “But God Himself does comprehend/ And answer silent prayer.” The singing of the hymn echoed exactly the way I was feeling.

I thought about the book of Psalms and how natural it is to want to sing praise to God when you have been spending time with Him and you feel His healing presence. Surely David, who wrote many Psalms, must have often felt that way, and I felt kin to David and all who praise God for His goodness. The pain, which had made every position uncomfortable, was now gone, its substancelessness proved, and what was left was holy, joyful gratitude – the real substance of being. I’m grateful for the immediacy of this healing. It’s a reminder to me that it’s really true that NOW is the accepted time.

Just reading Science and Health out loud healed my wife

In preparing for this year’s Association, I recalled a time when my wife was healed by just my reading Science and Health out loud.

It was just before our annual Association meeting and my wife was in quite a bit of discomfort, lying in bed and unable to move. She later told me that she was thinking, “How am I going to make it to Association?” She asked me to get her books and read to her from Science and Health.

When my wife asked me, my initial thoughts were:

1. How can I possibly help? After all, my wife is a Christian Science practitioner. . . and I am not!

2. What am I going to read?

3. And of course, the mortal opinion “I am not good enough” was running around in my mind.

So, I opened Science and Health and began to read. After a few pages, I looked over and my wife had fallen asleep peacefully. When she awoke in the morning, she was perfectly fine, 100%. A few days later, we went off to Association Day with joy.

In retrospect, I learned several things about Christian Science from this experience. First of all, respond to the call. Stop the chatter – don’t get bogged down listening to mortal thoughts. AND turn to the books. Let the word of Truth do the healing, just as it did for those 86 individuals in “Fruitage” who were healed by just reading Science and Health.