Article May 15, 1965 Issue

Patience and the Perfect Concept

HANNI DENNISON

Not all people find the word "patience" attractive. Many associate it with wearisome waiting, with uncertainty, indefinite postponement of blessings, and the like. The student of Christian Science, however, soon learns that this is only one aspect of patience. Mrs. Eddy has a great deal to say about this word in her writings. They reveal its true meaning and show that without patience we cannot progress very far in demonstrating Christian Science.

We find that in reality patience is not a frustrating ingredient of thought but an active, positive one. It can be thought of as a grace of Spirit, which courageously and persistently maintains that all is well, in spite of material sense evidence to the contrary. Patience admits that God, the All-in-all, is unchanging perfection and that man, His spiritual idea, always possesses all good by reflection. Patience companions with an unwavering faith in the ultimate triumph of absolute good.

In the Bible we read (Ps. 46:10), "Be still, and know that I am God." If we are to achieve such knowing, active patience is necessary. On page 454 of Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy writes, "Wait patiently for divine Love to move upon the waters of mortal mind, and form the perfect concept."

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