Patient Waiting

HARRIETT POST O'NEILL

When a healing seems to be prolonged, we need to learn how to keep our waiting both patient and active. In the Bible we read, "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain."^{James 5:7;}

The farmer diligently works to prepare the soil and sows his seed. Then he must patiently wait for the result. The early rain at sowing time, necessary for the seed to establish itself in the ground, may be likened to our first approach to a problem when we begin our necessary metaphysical work, our affirmation of the basic truth of perfect, spiritual being and of man in God's likeness, free from sin and disease.

If our healing is not quick, we know there are lessons to be learned through our spiritual growth. We may find some weeding needs to be done in consciousness. We need to uproot erroneous thoughts and cast them aside to make room for the appearing of the Christ, Truth. We need to deny the reality of anything unlike God. This includes any thoughts and acts of ours that are ungodlike. This period of weeding and more waiting necessitates work. Mrs. Eddy says, "The song of Christian Science is, 'Work—work—work—watch and pray.'"^{Message to The Mother Church for 1900, p. 2;}

This is the time, too, when we must exercise the most patience. We will be able to do this more easily if we keep our thought spiritually active. The Bible says, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."^{II Tim. 2:15;} Each day will bring growth—even if not seen, just as the sprouting seed for a time remains in the ground unseen. In James we read, "The trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."^{James 1:3, 4.}

The latter rain, which comes for the maturing of the grain for harvest, might be symbolic of angel thoughts of Truth and Love knocking at the door of our consciousness. Because of patiently working and waiting we can benefit from this nourishment and find ourselves healed. Or the latter rain may well be the help of a Christian Science practitioner, who can provide us with spiritual truths to awake us from the mortal dream of incompleteness. As we keep ourselves actively conscious of these truths and make them part of our daily lives, our waiting will bring healing.

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