Joy dueland

"Well, if you were halfway intelligent, you'd never be a Christian Scientist," Herb said. Nancy, who had grown up in a family of Christian Scientists, knotted up inside, but she couldn't think of a thing to say in defense of herself. She had begun the year with so many friends she'd been voted in as president of the ninth grade class. But her popularity had dropped to zero under Herb's attacks on her religion.

The lowest day of her life came at midyear when a member of the class had been delegated to ask her to resign the presidency. Not that she'd done anything wrong, they just said a boy ought to have the job. But she knew what they were thinking. At that point, even her boyfriend deserted her.

The gray cold of January turned the garden brown where it showed through patches of snow the day Nancy realized she had to come to terms with her life. As she looked out of the window, the day seemed to match her mood. Two quotes came to her thought. One was in the Bible. "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." ^{Matt. 5:11;} That made her feel depressed. She couldn't see any blessing in it.

The other was part of a quote by Mrs. Eddy, and it seemed even harder to bear. "Would existence without personal friends be to you a blank? Then the time will come when you will be solitary, left without sympathy...." ^{Science and Health, p. 266;} She couldn't remember the rest of it, nor did she look it up—not then.

It seemed to her she had a choice, one she didn't like at all. On one side stood Christian Science, which had always solved everything for her. On the other side stood friends. How she wanted those friends! How she wanted to be liked! If she chose Christian Science, then life could be solitary. The persecution might go on. How could Christ Jesus ever have said it was blessed? He even added, "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." ^{Matt. 5:12.} Well, then, she'd better start rejoicing!

Just what meant the most to her? The life she knew that had nothing to do with material existence, or a mortal sense of people and things? Christian Science had taught her the spiritual way of life. It expressed the Life that is Love, God. Love, the very basis of being. Love, the core of happiness. She couldn't exist without it. Nothing—not even friends, not even the end of persecution— could mean as much as divine Love. "I'm going to be a Christian Scientist no matter what anyone says," she told herself. She had made the decision and she stood by it.

Did the persecution cease? It didn't. Did Nancy find friends at school after all? No. For more than a year she stayed right there living her religion, loving where she was despised. She discovered the rest of the quote by Mrs. Eddy and more than anything it helped her. The words that meant so much were these: "but this seeming vacuum is already filled with divine Love. When this hour of development comes, even if you cling to a sense of personal joys, spiritual Love will force you to accept what best promotes your growth. Friends will betray and enemies will slander, until the lesson is sufficient to exalt you; for 'man's extremity is God's opportunity.'"

Nancy discovered the way Christian Science helps us when other people seem at fault. She learned to see that the spiritual man is the only real man. Man always loves. He always expresses Love's nature—gentleness, giving. These were the qualities she must express. Even more, she had to know these qualities were in others by seeing through the mortal facade to their true, their Christlike, nature. A generous quality in one, kindness in another, caught her notice. This had to be the Christ shining through. She sensed a grudging respect among the girls when she praised Herb for his intelligence, and even more because she stood for what she believed.

A deep change came in Nancy herself. It became easier to apply Christian Science to all her problems. When her family started a camp for young Christian Scientists and others, she became involved. She loved the work, the children, and most of all the chance to teach hungry hearts the practical use of Christian Science. There wasn't time to feel sorry for herself anymore. No wonder Jesus called persecution a blessing! Now Nancy didn't need approval, or even friends, to be happy.

Then, for a completely different reason she was abruptly transferred from one school to another, and this started a chain of blessings. Her new understanding of universal love became the basis of friendship with girls of another religion. She became one of the class officers. Even a boyfriend was added. But the greatest blessing of all was that she had really become a Christian Scientist. She'd found her life in and of God. The strength this testing time had given her was destined to help her bring healings to many in the years ahead.