"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
A couple of months ago, all three of our children and my husband and I fell ill to the flu at the same time. On a practical level, I was grateful to have the help of my mother-in-law during this time, as none of us could get out of bed! She has worked as a Christian Science nurse before. We also asked a practitioner to pray with our family. When the symptoms first appeared with our school-aged daughter, I was quite expectant that this should be healed quickly. Our daughter’s teacher told us there were many cases of affected children in the school. So, part of me wanted to show the teacher how effective Christian Science treatment is, as if to say “Look! Aren’t we just magnificent.”
Needless to say, when the rest of us started to show the same symptoms at home over the next day or so, I was discouraged. Why haven’t I protected my thought better? Why wasn't this healed quickly, I know man is not matter and that he is not subject to material laws! What have I done wrong? ...Those were the thoughts coming to me, and I felt that I had somehow let my family down and that I was responsible for the situation.
The practitioner likened the scenario to a storm. If a storm were passing through my community, would it be my fault? Of course not! It was easier for me to see the impersonal nature of the disease with this analogy. I was not the cause of the disease. God’s presence was not contingent on my personal effort to think “the right thoughts,” nor was I a barrier to it. God’s presence is a law and I am in fact the presence of that law of light. And the more this idea of “me” could be set aside, the more this pure light could shine through.
Before, I had always equated God’s love with a cessation of pain and disease. In other words, God’s loving presence can only be felt if there is no sense of disease or pain. And if we are experiencing those things, somehow that takes away some of that Love. But through this small experience, it was clear to me that above and beyond what we all seemed to be going through with our bodies, God’s love remains unchanged. It is never less than 100%, and it certainly does not depend on a material condition to be seen and felt. The proof of that was seen in the joy and buoyancy of our children during this time; being together as a family and the purity of enjoying stories, cuddles, and singing hymns; the gentleness expressed between me and my husband.
And looking back on it now, I know the healing wasn’t physical, but was an opportunity to learn to “grow in grace, expressed in meekness, love and good deeds.” I am grateful for experiences like these, not because they mark personal achievement, but that they help teach getting “me” out of the way and finding more of God.