Two words came to my thought: radical reliance

I would like to express my deep, heart-felt gratitude as a living witness to the presence and power of divine Love through radical reliance on Truth. It was the afternoon before Association Day, and I was to be the speaker. As I was walking across my hotel room, I tripped and fell forward. Immediately, I began praying to God, and these two simple, yet profound, words came to my thought: radical reliance.

I called out for help, but no one answered. There was material evidence of blood, damaged ribs, and difficulty breathing. I could barely walk to the bed. Finally, my best friend heard my cries and ran to help me up. She was a wonderful helper. She held fast to the Truth as I called a Christian Science practitioner. My friend stayed in my room all night assisting me. We were up every hour. When I slept, the carnal mind argued I would need a Christian Science nurse to care for me, so my friend could attend our Association meeting without me. But who would read the address I had prepared? It felt like I was reliving the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel.

At 5:30 a.m., my friend assisted me as I walked slowly to get ready for the day. This phrase came to me: “Mind can do it” (Science and Health 371:27). I hadn’t thought about this before. I just obeyed the divine words which I knew came from the “One ‘altogether lovely,’” because divine Love is the healer and therefore the doer.

Divine Love was truly sustaining me. The bleeding had stopped and I was able to shower and dress myself with very little pain. Even though we had had little sleep, my friend and I were totally refreshed and renewed with the divine energy of Spirit. There was a great deal of support from the practitioner and my dear friend. I was able to accomplish my duties as speaker for the Association. Our Association Day was beautiful and holy. It was like entering the Holy of Holies as I thought of the healing presence and power of God with everyone, including me.

But late that night, the carnal mind’s reaction came in with a vengeance. All of the symptoms returned and were exacerbated. The practitioner continued to support me at all hours of the day and night. At times, I couldn’t eat. My friend and my daughter cared for me when it was needed.

After two and a half weeks, I realized the claws of mortal mind had lifted and the healing was complete. There was no pain, and I could breathe freely and walk normally, as well as eat. This was a deeply moving healing experience. It was very much in line with Mrs. Eddy’s definition of miracle, which was referenced in the weekly Bible Lesson: “That which is divinely natural, but must be learned humanly; a phenomenon of Science” (Science and Health 591:21).

Throughout the entire healing, this statement from Science and Health was the rod I humbly leaned upon: “There is but one way – namely, God and His idea – which leads to spiritual being. The scientific government of the body must be attained through the divine Mind. It is impossible to gain control over the body in any other way. On this fundamental point, timid conservatism is absolutely inadmissible. Only through radical reliance on Truth can scientific healing power be realized” (Science and Health 167:24).

When the healing was complete, my dear friend shared these glorious words from the Christian Science Hymnal, which encapsulated my deep spiritual feelings about God: “You and You only are first in my heart; / Ours is a union that never will part. / And held in Your love, without doubt, without fear, / I know now within me that heaven is here” (Hymn 485:3).

Healing was realized – fully and completely

The past several months have afforded numerous opportunities for me to learn more about God and my unbreakable relationship to Him.

I’m especially grateful for two physical healings that seemed particularly challenging. In each instance, with the dedicated support of a Christian Science practitioner, healing was realized – fully and completely. The first healing, which involved a protracted claim of pain that inhibited movement, took place over an extended period. The second healing, which involved a different claim, came quickly. In both instances, healing came when it became clear that I wasn’t in a situation removed from God, but was always at one with Him, fully His expression, and subject only to the law of Principle.

A third healing came at the end of a recent overseas trip with my wife. I had become quite ill the night before we were to return home. As with the other two healings, that claim was handled quickly and effectively with the help of a Christian Science practitioner when I realized that I couldn’t be separated from God.

My growing understanding of my relationship to God has also helped in my work involving the governance of an organization unrelated to church. Earlier this year, I became aware that several members of that organization had engaged in dishonest and unjust behavior. While not directed at me, their behavior was upsetting and detrimental to the institution. I found it very hard not to resent acts designed to give the carnal mind what it wanted at others’ expense.

Late one night, just before going to bed, I felt myself struggling with a sense of darkness while thinking about the situation. One of Skip’s editorials brought the light. In “Thaw out the frozen feelings,” Skip writes, “The effect of scientific Christianity is to melt frozen feelings by making evident what belongs to man. Christian Science shows that man is not the limited, flawed mortal being he often appears to be; man is nothing less than the witness, or the image, of the divine Love which is God” (Sentinel, January 21, 1991). I realized this had to be true of those who were behaving badly as well as of myself. The editorial brought out the necessity of loving one’s neighbor, but what changed in my thought was the realization that this love is inevitable f man is the image of God. It wasn’t something I had to gin up: It’s God who is doing the loving, and it’s native to man to know this and to reflect what God is giving. This was not a matter of loving mortals who were behaving badly. It was breaking through to see God’s allness and man’s innocence.

Suddenly, the verses of several hymns came to thought and lifted me out of the morass: “I walk with Love along the way, and O, it is a holy day” (Hymn 139) and “while merged in Love, what hold has hate” (Hymn 48). And especially Hymn 179, which begins, “Love one another, – word of revelation; / Love frees from error’s thrall, – Love is liberation. / Love’s way the Master trod; He that loves shall walk with God. / Love is the royal way.”

I am increasingly grateful to be learning more of Christian Science, a process set in motion through class instruction with our teacher. To realize even a bit more of the great truth of being is to experience the kingdom of heaven here and now.

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.

Anatomy of a healing

I had a healing recently that taught me much about mental anatomy. In Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy states, “Anatomy, when conceived of spiritually, is mental self-knowledge, and consists in the dissection of thoughts to discover their quality, quantity, and origin. Are thoughts divine or human? That is the important question….The Christian Scientist, through understanding mental anatomy, discerns and deals with the real cause of disease” (Science and Health 462:20–24, 31–1).

I woke one morning with a toothache. A dentist had filled the tooth over a year before, but said that eventually I might need a crown to replace the tooth. His warning came back to me now, along with the pain. As I went about my day, I prayed to understand more deeply my spiritual perfection as the complete likeness of God, without any pain or history of decay. By the next day, though, the pain was so intense that I had to stop everything I was doing and face the fearful thoughts that seemed to be standing in the way of healing.

The first thought I needed to face was the assumption that a visit to the dentist was the fastest route to relief from pain. I countered that thought vigorously. As a life-long Christian Scientist, I had experienced many healings, including quick ones. I remembered a healing of incapacitating back pain; in that in that case, I had taken a significant step forward when I made the commitment to turn only to God for mental and physical comfort. That healing was accomplished in a few days.

I also remembered that the readings at the previous week’s Wednesday testimony meeting had been on pain. One citation from those readings really resonated with me: “Banish the belief that you can possibly entertain a single intruding pain which cannot be ruled out by the might of Mind, and in this way you can prevent the development of pain in the body. No law of God hinders this result” (Science and Health 391:9–13).

Having made the decision to rely completely on God for healing, I called a practitioner to pray with me. Her loving willingness to help was a great comfort. For the rest of the afternoon, I sat quietly, reading Science and Health and finding peace by keeping my thought close to God. By late evening, though, the pain was so intense that I could not imagine sleeping. I texted the practitioner and asked her to pray for me if she was still awake. Immediately, I got a text back saying she would be happy to pray. Once again, her loving willingness calmed my fears. I got into bed and found a podcast on JSH-online in which several people testified about healings of pain. One of them, by Lois Carlson, was a healing of an abscessed tooth. She mentioned going into a quiet room to ask God what she needed to know, and the thought that came to her was “God is closer to me than the pain.” I clung to that thought, thinking I would never sleep, but that I could be close with God nonetheless.

And then it was morning, and the pain had diminished so significantly that I was truly surprised. What had happened? I didn’t think I had learned enough or understood enough to be healed, and yet, aside from a sensitive lump on my gum, healing was undeniable.

When I called the practitioner to share the happy news, she said, “I think we need to learn to be less surprised and more grateful” for healing. I most certainly was grateful, but I also wanted to understand more of the Science of the healing – the anatomy of it. I asked myself three questions that I thought would help with that understanding. They were (1) What helped with the healing? (2) What was the learning from this healing? and (3) What now? What helped with the healing?

The decision to really stand with God and know that Mind is the only healer was a great starting point. After that, I had to face down the suggestion that this healing would take a lot of time. It helped to remember that all of Jesus’ healings were instantaneous, as were many of Mrs. Eddy’s and countless accounts of healing in the Christian Science periodicals. In an article called “The question of time and healing,” Ethel Baker writes, “What truly matters – what in fact is absolutely necessary – is a change of thought from materiality to spiritual Truth. And though this mental and spiritual transformation may take diligent as well as patient prayer, it never requires time” (Journal, June 2017). I realized that although I had not felt I was making much progress the day before, I had been diligent and persistent.

The Bible-Lesson that week contained the story of God’s commands to Moses. At God’s command, Moses threw down his rod and saw it become a serpent, but, also at God’s command, he picked it up and it became a rod again. Similarly, he put his hand in his shirt and took it out to see leprosy covering it, but when he put it in his shirt a second time, it was restored. Mrs. Eddy explains, “The illusion of Moses lost its power to alarm him, when he discovered that what he apparently saw was really but a phase of mortal belief” (Science and Health 321:16). I had taken time to declare and know, to the best of my ability, that pain was an illusion, a “phase of mortal belief.”

What was the learning?

The first thing I learned – or was reminded of – was that there are no laws of matter. Even when I had felt I was not making the necessary mental progress to be healed, the Christ was at work. I had understood to some degree Mrs. Eddy’s statement, “Have no fear that matter can ache, swell, and be inflamed as the result of a law of any kind, when it is self-evident that matter can have no pain nor inflammation” (Science and Health 393:18-21). I thought about the Scientific Statement of Being and saw that matter really cannot feel.

When I called the practitioner to tell her of my remarkable freedom from pain, she said, “One thing I know: this isn’t about your tooth.” This reminded me that a claim of pain or any other difficulty is never what it seems to be. As my Christian Science teacher once said to me, “Physical problems are never physical.” From that conversation, I understood that physical problems are always about unhandled mental states. That is not to say that we go digging around in our thought for some long-held belief or character flaw, but that as we pray, the mental misconceptions that need healing come to the surface to be faced and rejected.

Another idea that helped me was understanding that although this healing had felt very personal, it was not a selfish event, but profoundly unselfish. In actually, every healing alleviates the suffering of all humans. The joy of discovery we feel in a healing turns us with greater love, patience, and vigilance to the world, and we become a blessing in it.

I also learned that I didn’t have to understand all of Christian Science to be healed. The thought “God is closer to me than the pain” was enough to bring healing. How unfathomably great and powerful must God be, if just a thought could help me see that I was already in the heart of His all-loving universe.

What now?

Although I was more grateful than I could express for the healing of pain, there was still a tender lump on my gum, so more prayer was needed. I knew I needed to stop checking in with matter, either by exploring the sensitive area with my tongue or by prodding it in my thought. A much beloved sentence from Science and Health stayed with me, “A spiritual idea has not a single element of error, and this truth removes properly whatever is offensive” (Science and Health 463:12–13). I read the word “properly” to mean “completely,” so I knew the healing of pain could be followed by the removal of the evidence of any physical problem.

The last item in my list was to keep listening to what my all-loving Father-Mother is telling me, every moment, about my identity as a complete, joyful, pain-free reflection of God. Within a week, the healing was complete, without any sign that there had ever been a problem. That was several months ago, and there has been no return of the condition.

I am so grateful for the Christ that shows us the nearness of God every moment; for the lives of Jesus the Way-shower and Mrs. Eddy, who was unflinching in her mission to give the Science of Christianity to the world; for the Christian Science periodicals that remind us how healing takes place; and for practitioners who are always ready to help so lovingly.

God is the only thing going on

I would like to share my gratitude for a beautiful healing. And share my gratitude for our practitioners.

Last winter I had been living with a sense of fear and depression. It thought it was caused by a relationship that wasn’t going the way I wanted it to. My mind was full of past and future ills. I was entertaining many loud and despairing voices.

Finally, I realized I needed help. I called a dear practitioner and described my feelings in great detail – all of the reasons and predictions. She replied with a loving treatment. I tried to write down what she was saying. Although it was a wonderful treatment, I doubt I really heard it or that it would make any sense to look at my notes now. But I did catch this one idea: God is the only thing going on.

At the moment, it seemed harsh that the practitioner was ignoring all of my concerns. But she explained why we need to turn away from error and live in the light. I finished the call, still feeling empty and confused and dark. But as the hours went, on all darkness, despair, fear, and depression drained out of me. I was free.

I texted the practitioner: “Wanted to thank you again. The healing was complete and permanent, like dumping out a barrel of dark water. Now there is room for lovely warm relations where fear was before.”

What was needed most was love and humility

Mrs. Eddy says, “Harmony is heaven. Science brings out harmony; but this harmony is not understood unless it produces a growing affection for all good, and consequent disaffection for all evil, hypocrisy, evil-speaking, lust, envy, hate” (Miscellaneous Writings 337:16–19). We cannot demonstrate the kingdom of heaven at hand or within if we do not purpose to overcome hate with Love, jealousy and envy with kindness and generosity, pride with humility, retribution with forgiveness, and selfishness with selflessness. Jesus gave us many examples of this in his Sermon on the Mount and the Lord’s Prayer.

But what does it mean to truly demonstrate this when the rubber meets the road – when you are faced with someone’s hatred or envy or when someone does something to you that is unfair or unjust? Mrs. Eddy says it best: “Faith illumined by works; the spiritual understanding which cannot choose but to labor and love; hope holding steadfastly to good in the midst of seething evil; charity that suffereth long and is kind, but cancels not sin until it be destroyed, – these afford the only rule I have found which demonstrates Christian Science” (Miscellaneous Writings 338:9).

My most recent demonstration of this was at work. When my last manager became my boss, I struggled with her leadership style. During her visits to my location, she was prone to point out areas that needed improvement in a disparaging way, without any regard for the many things that were being done well. On occasions our conversations got heated, as I was determined to stand my ground, which only led to more discord between us. I knew that I could not approach this situation with human means, and turned to Chrisitan Science prayer. With the help of a practitioner, I was able to see that what was needed most was love and humility.

I began to work to know that my boss was a beloved child of God and that she was not left out of the kingdom of heaven. I worked to know that she was governed by divine Mind and that we could both see the good in each other and value one another. Our relationship improved and my boss increasingly recognized the good work I was doing. My boss even began using me as an example for others to follow. It is interesting to note that while our relationship improved, my peers continued to struggle with her leadership style – evidence that it was the spiritual work that I was doing that was bringing out the harmony of heaven between us.

At the beginning of this year, my company made organizational changes that resulted in her no longer being my direct manager. Validation that our relationship had been healed came when my previous manager spoke highly of me to my new manager. She also went out of her way to ensure I received proper recognition for one of my recent accomplishments when my new manager had failed to do so. At that time, she expressed genuine appreciation for me and encouraged me to never doubt myself or all the hard work I had done.

In that moment, it was remarkably clear to me how beautiful it is to live in the kingdom of heaven. While the labor to love is not easy – it requires both a denial of self and a complete surrender to God’s will – it is the path by which we take up our cross and follow Him.

I walked out of church completely healed

I had a nice healing in church a month or so ago. For several days, I had been struggling with an increasing sense of fear and discomfort in my throat – it was uncomfortable and distracting. I had been working with a practitioner, but the claim didn’t seem to yield.

At church I gave a testimony about something else, and on the way home I chatted with a neighbor that I saw on the subway – even though my first inclination was to read and keep to myself. When I got home, I realized that I was healed, and I felt that “Love is the liberator” (Science and Health 225:21). I was so filled with joy!

A week later on Wednesday afternoon, however, the claim of an uncomfortable throat seemed to aggressively return. I prayed to know that there is “never a return to positions outgrown” (Science and Health 74:30).

Before church, I searched the word “throat” on JSH-Online and read an account of how Mrs. Eddy instructed a worker to be specific and precise in his argument against a claim of inharmony (We Knew Mary Baker Eddy, Vol. II, p. 430-431). I also read two great testimonies that helped break the mesmerism of fear and gave me confidence that the claim of discomfort could be healed through Christian Science treatment: “A message ‘made for me’” (Sentinel, January 28, 2013) and “Throat issue healed” (Sentinel, November 5, 2012).

The Christian Science practitioner I was working with shared these two passages with me:

• “Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion” (Isa. 52:12).

• “In different ages the divine idea assumes different forms, according to humanity’s needs. In this age it assumes, more intelligently than ever before, the form of Christian healing. This is the babe we are to cherish. This is the babe that twines its loving arms about the neck of omnipotence, and calls forth infinite care from His loving heart” (Miscellaneous Writings 370:12).

That evening I went into church affirming that it was a healing meeting and that I could expect healing – for everyone! The readings were on joy, and the hymns were very joyful. I started to feel a sense of joy during the meeting, even though the claim of discomfort hadn’t dissolved. I kept affirming that the truths at this meeting heal, and thought of how everyone attending—both in person and online – was bringing to it “the consciousness thus prepared,” a state of thought that a writer describes Mrs. Eddy longing for at church services (“Healing the Multitudes,” Sentinel, July 1, 1916).

I found a helpful, healing thought in each testimony. One of those thoughts was, “We’re not redecorating but moving out” (i.e., we are not fixing up matter but rather leaving a sense of material living for the life that is Spirit; laying off a sense of life in matter for the reality that we are spiritual). I felt very joyful. 

After church, I chatted with some visitors, and the First Reader shared how he had been healed of a claim of food poisoning when his sister said, “That’s just animal magnetism.” Such a simple statement, but so true and healing! During the meeting and afterward, I was filled with such gratitude for church – how it is so helpful to have a place to be with others who are studying and practicing Christian Science, and how important it is for us to be there for those looking for healing. I walked out of church completely healed, and that claim has not returned!

In looking back at my notebook with healings in it, I see at the top of this healing I have written: “Refuse to assess from mortal mind’s standpoint” – AWP. I’m not sure if that quote is from Skip’s writings or from a conversation with him, but that thought played an important role in this healing. I am so very grateful for this healing, which demonstrated to me the power and presence of God, divine Love, the value and joy of church, and the preciousness and effectiveness of Christian Science.

My health is not in a position to be lost

At Christmas time a few years ago, an area on my forehead became darkly discolored, and I began experiencing internal discomfort in my head. During this time, I wore a cap so that neither my family members nor I would be looking at the false evidence.

Throughout the course of this healing, I recorded prayers and quotations in my journal. Here is part of a prayer recorded on Christmas day: I am not, never was, and never can be diseased. The wholeness and soundness of infinite Spirit is perfectly expressed in me immutably forever. . . . The only thing that can grow in me or be manifest in my experience is spirituality – God-bestowed spirituality. My health is not in a position to be lost.

I contacted a Christian Science practitioner, who assured me, “Error can’t cling to you. What’s needed is more spiritual growth.” I noted in my journal: I have the opportunity this day and this week and this next year to follow the “guiding star of being,” the “daystar of divine Science, lighting the way to eternal harmony.”

I was off work until after New Year’s Day, and I found myself needing to work day and night against what felt like an aggressively threatening claim. Any indulgence of a mortal sense of things made me feel trapped in a corner, so the need was to rise above the false sense and lay full and consistent claim to God-bestowed consciousness. The work included the following: The Lord lifts up His countenance upon me, and as His mirror image, my countenance is spiritually whole, pure, reflecting the original. This passage from Isaiah came into clear focus: “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him” (Isa. 59:19).

At one point I was seeing and affirming that God does health. It is established in me perfectly, and I forever reflect it. On Dec. 29, I found myself affirming the following: I am now Mind-enabled to be conscious of the fact “that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual – neither in nor of matter” (Science and Health 14:12–14). This is the consciousness that heals. This means that of course there’s a way forward that involves victory over the illusion of disease. God and His creation, including me, are pure light and perfect love. The material senses and mortal mind get it wrong when it comes to the state of my being. Nothing they insist upon is connected to reality.

I was often up and working in the middle of the night. At 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 30, I recorded the following: On the subject of health – or any other subject, for that matter – the physical senses are consistently wrong. My health is now perfect, because it comes from Spirit, God, and is maintained by God….The belief constituting disease must yield to spiritual understanding and divine law. Now and always, I am the image of Love, not physique, the reflection of Spirit, perfectly whole. I seek to live this truth more consistently; to walk in the Christ way. Walk up and out of the dank, dark basement of mortal belief into the open, daylight newness and realness of spiritual being and freedom.

A bit of what I recorded at 5:00 a.m. on December 31 included this: Look mortal mind, you’ve got nothing! Give it up. Go home to your native nothingness. All the power of the actual universe of infinite creation resides in God. And I am His. And God says, “You are mine – my loved child.”

During this period, I was immensely grateful for the unwavering support of the practitioner who encouraged me to call at any hour. At 12:25 a.m. on January 1, I received this text from the practitioner: “Christ is your advocate and others’ histories and world beliefs hold no sway. You are free. That is the fact!”

Part of my spiritual work during these days and nights was reviewing references and notes from class instruction. Spiritual progress was definitely taking hold and that naturally, if gradually, manifested on the body. I work virtually, which includes Zoom meetings, and I was grateful not to miss any work, though I stayed off camera for the first couple of days in early January.

It was right then, at that point of spiritual progress and close to the point of claiming full healing, that word came from the association of Skip’s passing. This was a very big challenge. But I found in this time of spiritual labor and healing progress, that more than grief, more than anything, what I experienced concerning Skip was an immensity of gratitude. This is a part of what I recorded in my journal: It’s hard to overstate the magnitude of blessing that flowed from his depth and faithfulness of service to God and His Christ. The blessing in my own life is beyond measure. I am humbly grateful. Skip was devoted to Life, and my proper debt is to carry the devotion forward with renewed consecration and with unfathomable depths of gratitude.

The healing of the claim of disease was soon complete, and I was humbly thankful also for a healing of grief before it was ever allowed to descend.

Dear Father, show me your light

A couple of weeks ago, I was feeling darkness and despair: first from all of the troubling issues in the world on the news, and second from the oppressive weather conditions—we had had many days of rain with no sun. As I was driving down a winding road in the pouring rain, I reached out to God. My thought went to the fact that there is light and it never goes away. God, ever-present good, forever emanates this light, and it can never be dimmed or diminished. It is always there, even if we can’t see it. I prayed, “Father, I know your light is right here, and it can’t be hidden from me or anyone else. I know your light can never be extinguished for you are the creator of it. Dear Father, show me your light, so that I can see my way to you.”

Instantly, a clearing appeared and the sun shined brightly through the clouds. A wonderful sense of God’s presence came over me, and I felt His love and the assurance of His constancy. It was a beautiful sight. But it wasn’t just what I was seeing with my eyes, it was a sense of Spirit that was lifting me upward and showing me God’s love. I could feel it and it was powerful and strong, but also gentle and sure.

I was in awe of His immediacy in my desire for the light. The fatigue and dread I was feeling disappeared and I felt refreshed and new. I was filled with energy and light. It was so brilliant, I could feel its perpetuity. Visually, it lasted for about 30 minutes, but mentally, it stayed and sustained me. I went about the day with more joy and so much gratitude for what God had shown me.

Later in the day, I told a Christian Science friend what had happened. He replied, “I really needed that light, too.” (He was caring for his mother who was going through a difficult time.) He continued, “I happened to see the sun coming through the window and I went outside with my dog to bask in the light shining down on my face. It seemed to have come from out of nowhere after there had been so much darkness.” He thanked me for praying for the light, since He too felt God’s love, which was so needed in those moments.

This was truly a memorable experience for me. Through this simple prayer I witnessed God embracing everyone with His love and light. This was the kingdom of heaven that is omnipresent. Imagine how God must love us to have us living forever in this kingdom!

I love the last verse of Hymn 485, for it speaks of our relationship to God in a beautiful way: “You and You only are first in my heart;/ Ours is a union that never will part./ And held in Your love, without doubt, without fear,/ I know now within me that heaven is here.”