"Precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little." Isaiah 28:10
"Precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little." Isaiah 28:10
I had happily agreed to step in as First Reader on the coming Sunday and I enjoyed diving into the lesson sermon. But on Wednesday I got news from a friend at work, that another common friend of ours had given birth to her first child more than 10 weeks too early. The family had been in and out of hospital and the situation looked bleak, to say the least. There was a lot of sadness – and uncertainty on our side as to how to react. Should we write a letter, send a parcel? What would the parents feel like, if . . . ?
Listening to my friend, I quietly turned to God as Life, the life of all of His/Her creation. But over the next two days, I struggled with feeling sad, fearful, and helpless about the news. How could I pray? It just felt too big to handle. So how could I read then on Sunday? And I had not been asked to pray for the child, so how could I pray for the situation anyway? I felt clearly that this was just another attempt to keep me from praying, it surely was my job to correct my own thinking and to find clarity and peace. Helpful thoughts kept coming with each prayer and with studying the lesson. The subject of that week’s lesson was “Man” – and it was FULL of inspiring truths and ideas. I also remembered Fenella making it a strong point that, in order to understand our immortality, we need to know that we have never been born into matter. I turned to the article “I was there” on pre-existence by Violet Hay. That was so helpful. I began to feel that this wonderful child of God had never been born into matter – and she just could not die out of it. Whatever would happen on the human scene could not interfere with this Truth.
Turning to God later, it just came clear as sunlight: “You cannot read this lesson [on ‘Man’] on Sunday – and at the same time believe in a dying child.” That was it. I dedicated myself whole heartedly to reading this lesson on Sunday, and even if I could not claim that I could possibly demonstrate all I was reading, I could certainly accept it and be grateful for it. The fear for my friend’s baby started to give way to a sense of peace and joy every time she came to thought. One of the citations just stayed with me: “Man is the expression of God’s being.” What a relief! It was as if every other belief had just been lifted off me.
On Saturday I felt inspired to buy a vivid little toy-lion and some other presents. I wrote a letter to my friend and packed a little parcel. It just felt like the right thing to do, so I trusted and prayed for the right words.
Reading on Sunday, I felt as if I was listening to the lesson myself. It was so powerful! I was full of humility and awe, feeling like I was standing in a beam of sunshine on the first day of spring. Simply blessed.
After the service one of our members commented he had felt such power behind the lesson and that he had been healed of a longstanding issue. Wow!
When I asked my friend at work the next day whether she wanted to join me in sending a parcel to our friend, she obviously felt she had not made it clear enough what the situation looked like. This time, I silently but firmly put my foot down, thinking: “And there is no fact in the world that could end this life, whether we see this humanly or not.” I was standing in that “beam of light” of the lesson, of the truth that we all are – and always have been – the expression of God’s being. I could lovingly share with my colleague that I wanted to express my heartfelt love for this little girl to her right now, and to her parents. My friend agreed and a tangible sense of comfort and peace filled the situation.
A couple of days later the baby came home for good. She is an adorable, healthy, and bright little girl. Every time I am in touch with the little family, or this experience comes to mind, I am just filled with gratitude and humility for God’s [Life’s] – Life’s tender care and power. And for this experience of the Christ-light literally reaching – and lighting up – a dark spot in consciousness and thus restoring harmony.