Article June 13, 1931 Issue

Discouragement Needless

LATOLIA I. HILLYER

Sometimes a student of Christian Science, after working for a long time on a problem, asks: I have worked as well as I know how to work; why are my efforts unavailing? Perhaps a practitioner has been appealed to, and the student is certain that loving and faithful work has been done; but still the problem seems unsolved. A sense of discouragement may threaten to overwhelm him; and it may seem useless to try further when there is no apparent reward.

A student once found herself facing what seemed to be a severe trial. Inasmuch as she had been doing the best she knew how to do, as she thought, she was overwhelmed by a sense of injustice and discouragement, feeling that she had not gained anything by trying. After further study, the real understanding came suddenly, several months later.

One day the vacuum cleaner refused to work. Feeling sure that the trouble was caused by a fused wire, and knowing how to remedy so slight a difficulty, the student proceeded to repair it. She took off the handle, and found nothing wrong there. She took apart the connection to the motor, and found it all right. Then she looked at the end of the cord; the trouble was not there. Still the cleaner would not work. She knew that electrical appliances demand that there be provision for a continuous flow of the current, and that a good motor connected with the current cannot fail to work. She knew also how to mend the wire to provide a continuous current, could she but find the place to apply her knowledge. Discouragement presented itself; she had tried to apply her knowledge and there was no result. But, making one more effort, she found the place where, midway in the cord, the wire was severed. It was soon repaired, and the cleaner once more became usable.

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