Class helped me to move into a whole new life
/Question 3: Share a transforming experience like Saul to Paul which came about reading Skip’s article(s).
My Saul-to-Paul transformation began when I went through class instruction with Skip. I came to Massachusetts a shy, self-conscious, self-depreciating, fearful person who had difficulty making decisions. I didn’t really know who I was, and I didn’t feel I had any worth. I had survived a childhood of regular illnesses due to a mother who often made me ill so she would feel needed. Then I ended up in a bad marriage. I was able to express love to others and help when needed, but the hidden feelings about myself were just dragging me further and further into a sense of depression and doubt. I had always loved God and I felt him with me. But somehow, I didn’t feel deserving of His love.
When Skip entered the room on the first day of class, he exuded a wonderful sense of love and caring for all of us. This love just poured out of him, and I knew it was of God. Each day this love grew, and it included Skip and all of my classmates. I was finding that because I was God’s child, I did have purpose and worth! It was becoming more and more clear that I was dearly loved just by being His child. The circumstances I came from didn’t define me because I was held in the image and likeness of God. Every day of class was a new life for me. That life was always there, I just needed to awaken to it.
Each day I was presented with a physical challenge, but class kept lifting me higher. It truly was transforming me. To my surprise, I received knocks on my door requesting metaphysical support during class. I wasn’t sure I had learned enough yet, so I turned wholeheartedly to God. I was learning about healing and God’s constant care, so I knew I had to do the work. After praying for the patients who came to my door, I often stayed awake into the late hours working on my assignments so I would be prepared for the following day’s lessons. Five patients were prayed for and healed.
Many things were trying to get in the way of my spiritual progress. But Skip’s article “Lambs whom some wolves might wish they’d never met” (Sentinel, July 15, 1991) was a moving and wonderful help. First the title drew my attention, as most all of Skip’s titles do! I love what Skip says, “The innocence of those making every effort to follow Christ and live spiritually is not weakness and vulnerability. Instead it is an empowering that comes from the fact that when one is willing to live in obedience to God, one is not simply living morally; one is being brought into accord with the very Principle of the universe.”
Later in the article Skip writes, “The Master didn’t promise that his followers would experience universal friendliness, though he advocated their universal love of others. In fact, he spoke of the despising he himself had encountered. But he also said to those who were striving to live closely with Christ, Truth, ‘Nothing shall by any means hurt you.’. . .His world had one God, one power, which is good. And so his lambs had strength and protection that wolves could not imagine.” I took this article to heart.
The class experience truly helped me to move into a whole new life. God provided everything I needed, just as he always had. For four years I travelled from my home in Michigan to Massachusetts for Association. Each visit was definitely “coming home,” as Skip would so lovingly welcome us. It was so hard for me to leave. Soon after, God led me to file for divorce and move to Massachusetts. People in my old life told me I couldn’t stand on my own and I would be a failure, but because of God’s great love and Skip’s wonderful teaching, I was led into a brand-new experience.
Once I moved to Boston, my needs were continually met. A dear Christian Science practitioner and her husband allowed me to stay in their home until I found a place of my own. They expressed so much love to me and became my family. Their children and grandchildren gave me the position of Auntie. I was able to take up practice office hours in our Association office twice a week.
Although my background was in teaching dance, I was immediately hired to care for a woman who was no longer driving. After the passing of the woman in my care, I was introduced to a woman who needed around-the-clock companioning. I am now in my nineteenth year of caring for her. This situation has allowed me to purchase my own home and live independently without any financial concerns.
In addition, I spent 19 years being on call for Skip to assist in practical needs in his home and office, including metaphysical support for any projects that arose. Seeing lives so deeply devoted to God and the Cause of Christian Science made a great impact on my life. Through the years I had the privilege of witnessing many healings and experienced many of my own.
I am so grateful for this experience. Starting from a place of feeling that I had no worth, I was shown the way step by step. I had to forget self, drop fear, and love more. Complete reliance on God gave me the strength and courage to go forward. God has been with me all along, and He is so much a part of my life that I can’t imagine being unaware of Him. He gives us purpose far beyond what we could have outlined for ourselves. In his article “Simple prayers” (Sentinel, August 18, 1986), Skip states, “Through prayer we learn God’s immediacy. We learn that our life isn’t a dull material story but a spiritual adventure.”