"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
The passage in Isa 41:15, “Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff” has taken on its full significance in my experience. I seemed to be faced with three mountains, and all three were turned to chaff within five days.
One morning while getting ready the resentment resurfaced that I had been feeling toward my brother-in-law for quite some time. I then suddenly felt as if something had snapped in my back. I knew immediately that nothing had actually taken place in my back as I have seen over the years that thought governs our experience. It was very clear that I had to start seeing my brother-in-law in a spiritual light rather than as a hard-hearted mortal. What seemed to have happened in my back had so little reality in my eyes that I was quickly able to go about my business. I felt no pain shortly thereafter. However, I tried— to overcome the belief that I had been offended by another “mortal”.
A week and a half later I thought about my brother-in-law’s behaviour and realized that some sense of resentment remained. That evening my back seemed to be extremely painful. I was awake for much of the night. During that time I prayed deeply to see that I had never fallen from my perfect spiritual state as the reflection of God. I was able to gain some sense of peace and to fall asleep, but was repeatedly awoken by the discomfort.
The next morning I decided that I would ask for support (which I rarely do) from a friend’s teacher, as mine had passed on. I told her about the resentment that I had been feeling and that it was such an imposition on my thought as it was the first time I had ever experienced such thoughts. It seemed too difficult for me to close the door to these lies about the true nature of man. When she mentioned what Jesus had said about such cases, “turn the other cheek”, I knew that was the truth that would sweep away any mortal notion about human relations.
Later that morning I felt it was also necessary to receive support to overcome the great sense of grief and trauma concerning my mother, as my feelings about my brother-in-law were linked to this situation. I had always felt that I would have to handle the illusion that claimed to be my mother’s and my experience by myself. I began to feel quite free later in the day, but while folding my ironing board the pain seemed to return. The next day it was suggested that I read hymn 154:
In thee, O Spirit true and tender,
I find my life as God’s own child
Within Thy light of glorious splendour
I lose the earth-clouds drear and wild.
That morning we were to prepare to leave for a week of skiing. I seemed to be in great pain and continued reading the hymn. My husband became upset because nothing had been packed and that other things had not been taken care of. While he was running an errand that I could not take care of the day before, I saw that I was being tempted to have a sense of resentment because my husband was being insensitive to what I was experiencing. I resolved to pack our suitcases while he was gone so he would not feel rushed to make the preparations. I tried to keep in mind the words of the hymn while packing and all the while refusing to listen to the claims of mortal mind, alias matter. I continued affirming that I lived and moved and had my being in Spirit.
By the time we left in the afternoon, I felt like I could run a race. I went skiing the next day and skied throughout the week. While praying the few days prior I had never let in one thought claiming that I would not be able to ski. No matter how bad the situation seemed to be I expected good without trying to define how things would come to pass.
On two occasions at the beginning of the vacation it seemed that my back was hurt due to other “causes”, such as riding a sled. However, I was able to see through these claims quite quickly thanks to the clearer understanding I had gained.
After about four or five days I realized that all mortal sense had disappeared concerning not only my brother-in-law but my mother as well. Humanly speaking the situation with my mother seemed to be so dark and so impressive, and had gone on for so long, that I had assumed that it would take a long time to rid my thought of such images. I have always believed that anything is possible to God, but it was hard to conceive of this being true concerning what seemed to have happened with my mother. What a wonderful proof of the great efficaciousness of divine Science, of the everpressence of divine Love; that it makes no difference what the human situation is or how long it has gone on. The spiritual fact is all and mortal claims, situations, history, etc. are NO thing. Through God’s love and the support of a dedicated practitioner this fact has come to light.