When it seems as though your ship is sinking, there is hope. When it seems as though you cannot be healed of a physical or mental problem, there is hope.
And what’s more, there is spiritual Truth, which is available to heal us by revealing our status as the beloved children of God.
In Christian Science, we learn that God is Truth. It is one of God’s many names. We also learn that He is not only Father but Mother to us. We are not fearful or powerless, nor can we be labeled as unhealable. We are God’s, divine Mind’s, spiritual idea. Our Father-Mother God is always with us and knows absolutely nothing material about us.
Our identity is defined by God and cannot be found in the noise of human opinions. It is found in communion with God through spiritual sense, defined in “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” as “a conscious, constant capacity to understand God” (Mary Baker Eddy, p. 209).
If we understand God, then we understand ourselves, because we reflect God – we were made in God’s image. But how do we gain that understanding when everything around us screams otherwise?
About four years ago I had a series of dental procedures. The dental assistant administered strong doses of nitrous oxide gas to help manage the anxiety and pain. I was not practicing Christian Science at the time, and after the procedures were completed, I began to experience mental and physical trauma, insomnia, and what appeared to be neurological damage, with progressively suicidal thoughts.
Despite their best efforts, the medical professionals could not diagnose why this was happening. They began to test different types of prescription drugs on me to control the symptoms of what they saw as a severe mental disorder. But things only grew worse.
There were periods when I went longer than a week without any real sleep, and I began to have convulsions. At this point, I was urged by my family to contact a Christian Science practitioner. I had been raised in Christian Science, but I had fallen away from regular study.
Now, I reached out to a practitioner. I did not ask for specific spiritual treatment because I had become dependent on tranquilizers and felt that quitting them would ignite a medical emergency. So I prayed on my own for a short time.
One day, it became clear to me that I was sitting on the fence. I did not trust the care administered by the medical professionals, and I did not fully trust God. So, while lying in bed one night, I said out loud, almost in jest, “God, if You love me, then help me.” In response, I immediately heard these words Jesus spoke to his disciples: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
I laughed out loud because I was doing nothing remotely close to following his commandments. But I wanted to. I wanted to feel alive again. So then, why delay? Now, finding and experiencing God’s truth was the only thing that mattered to me.
After about a week I asked a Christian Science practitioner for specific spiritual treatment and was willing to follow any inspiration I received, including to leave behind the dependence on medicine. I received the most compassionate affirmation of love along with a clear message of truth – and felt my exemption from evil.
It was a love that I had never felt before: an infinite love. We are worthy of this kind of love, and it is here for us, without our having to do a single thing except be willing and ready to accept it.
I stopped taking the medicine. I also began to forgive the dental and medical professionals who I felt had misdiagnosed me and incorrectly prescribed and administered addictive medicines.
That day the physical symptoms and the confusion began to disappear. I continued to work with the practitioner to address the remaining symptoms and steadily made progress. Since then, I have made a full recovery.
God is ready to bless us because He loves us. How important it is to know that our existence is defined by original blessing, not original sin. The book of Genesis declares, “God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (1:31). He sees us, He loves us, and we are good. End of story. Each one of us is a spiritual idea of God, living a spiritual life.
We are now, and always will be, free. God is always speaking and we are always able to hear – and follow.
Adapted from an article published in the Aug. 5, 2024, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.
