On page 268 of "Miscellaneous Writings" our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, tells us that "God's preparations for the sick are potions of His own qualities." Students of the Science of Christianity, revealed and established by Mrs. Eddy, recognize the indisputable fact that qualities which reflect God, such as gratitude, gladness, goodness, happiness, and joy, are health-giving and health-protecting; and there are some physical scientists, as well, and members of the medical profession who admit the importance of the cultivation of these qualities as preventive and curative agencies. Then again King Solomon, who with God-given wisdom perceived the value of joy, wrote, in Proverbs, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones."

Early one spring the writer received much inspiration from observing the unfoldment of some potted geraniums which were brought forth from the dark corner where they had been kept during the winter months. Tall, spindling, with pale and insipid appearance of leaf and stem, they were indeed sorry-looking specimens of this usually sturdy plant. They were placed in sunny windows of the basement, preparatory to being moved, later on, to beds in the garden, given proper and regular care, and left to the influence of the kindly rays of the sun. It was a delight to witness their unfoldment. New shoots soon came forth. The stems took on a deeper shade of green, and fresh leaves made their appearance. The unattractive, frail, and almost worthless-looking plants were giving promise of strength and beauty. With quiet observance of this transformation came the thought that joy is to our consciousness as was the sunshine to the plants. Can one hope to manifest health and harmony in the gloom of despondency and discouragement, or when indulging in disgruntled thoughts? No more than plants can grow in the dark corners of a basement!

Mrs. Eddy says in her textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 162), "Christian Science brings to the body the sunlight of Truth, which invigorates and purifies." The illuminating radiancy of Truth and Love as it dawns upon individual consciousness, through the study of Christian Science, cannot help bringing to the sin-sick heart and pain-racked body joyful release. The understanding that evil never was, and is not, present in the form of pain, poverty, or discord of any nature, that it can never enter actual Life, because God, good, is All, was All, and ever will be All, does indeed establish that joy to which Nehemiah turned the people when he said to them, "The joy of the Lord is your strength."

Such an understanding of real joy, founded upon and grounded in Truth, is not spasmodic nor hilarious, but constant, calm, enduring. Such joy cannot be shaken or weakened by little ripples of discord, or by violent gusts of the carnal mind. What if there be ingratitude, thoughtless acts, and unkind words! What if sinning sense run riot, rampant with appalling, destructive force; if error appear as though it will never let go; if the stifling pressure of lack seem fairly to swamp one! Is evil power, is it present, is it true? Not if God, good, be All-in-all. And He is! So there is only and always cause for gratitude and reason for song.

Over the radio one day came a refrain, the chorus ending with the words, "The devil hates a song, so sing, brother, sing." Although Christian enlightenment has enabled mankind to reach the releasing conclusion that there is no such thing as a personal devil, still there are false beliefs, erroneous so-called laws and powers, to be destroyed, seemingly aggressive forces of evil loath to yield and fighting to retain their supposedly sovereign sway. Through the right understanding of the Scriptures, gained by the study of Mrs. Eddy's writings, students of Christian Science are learning the nothingness and powerlessness of so-called spurious laws and forces. The knowledge that "the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" is bringing and will continue to bring spiritual dominion and freedom to all humanity.

Many Bible characters have proved convincingly the power of gratitude and joy in delivering them from disastrous conditions. It is recorded that when "the evil spirit" was upon Saul, "David took an harp, and played ... so Saul was refreshed, and was well." That sweet singer of Israel has left us rich and glorious psalms, paeans of praise, oases in the desert of our human hopes. Paul and Silas, in prison, lifted their voices in song to God at the darkest hour of their trial. Mrs. Eddy herself experienced the healing effects of song. It is written of her that one morning, while a guest in a home of one of her early students, after a night of intense struggle for light on a distressing problem, she overheard members of the household singing a familiar hymn containing the words, "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." It is related that the light came, and she rejoiced. Many students of Christian Science have found release from physical bondage, mental tension, and other mesmeric beliefs in turning for courage and inspiration to their beloved Hymnal.

The night of discord may seem long; fear may even whisper failure; but the morning light of Truth dawns as we prove faithful to our Leader's purpose and demonstration. Let us not forget that the morning always comes; that in reality it is already at hand. God, good, is, and the nowness of His presence gives us a reason for the joy that is within us. The spiritual understanding of God and man, Father and son, Mind and idea, reveals the eternal fact that joy is one of man's innate qualities, which he reflects from God. Let us claim and cultivate this quality as our divine birthright. The joy of the Lord is indeed strength-giving, and "with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation."