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Just add a little ‘umph' to ‘try’
Our local Christian Science branch church has gone through some changes to better reach out to the community and be a more visible presence.
Major repairs had been done to the church building’s foundation, a new Sunday School roof was built, and the outside of the building had a brand-new paint job. We had a nice location on Main Street, but the front entrance was partially hidden by a group of overgrown shrubs. So we started our work, removing the bushes—stumps and all.
I had a shovel and pruners for the small roots and my friend had an ax and plenty of muscle for the larger ones. However, we quickly found that those shrubs had very hefty, thick trunks that didn’t want to budge. Every time I got discouraged and those roots wouldn’t give, I’d say to myself, Let me dig a little deeper. With a little more work, each bush eventually came out.
Isn’t that the way it is whenever we have a problem and we pray to find a healing solution? We just have to dig a little deeper into our study of the Truth.
We need to remove the lies or dirt obscuring the fact that God made us in His image and likeness; that He made us spiritual. Then chop out any thoughts that would try to tie our identity to earth or matter. Discord, sin, hopelessness, poverty, age, and disease try to claim a reality that was never theirs. God never made them.
This is the truth of being, and when this truth is affirmed and understood, beliefs related to material life yield to the divine reality of health and harmony. But it takes a little work.
I once read that triumph is just a little “umph” added to “try.” In this case, it was just another ten inches of digging and chopping that shifted my thinking from “this isn’t going to yield,” to succeeding, and one by one, each bush came out.
We got all the bushes out and the front of the church went from dark and shadowy to bright and peaceful. My friend and I were grateful to be of service and to further prove that we emerge triumphant when we keep our thought, motives, and actions loving and God-centered.
—Christine Weitz, Orchard Park, New York, US