Article February 24, 1986 Issue

All-weather Christian Scientist (not just a fair-weather one)

JUDITH ANN HARDY

For a long time, whenever I came upon this statement of Paul's in the Bible, "I take pleasure in infirmities,"^{II Cor. 12:10.} I would skip right over it. Likewise, this one from Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy: "Trials are proofs of God's care."^{Science and Health, p. 66.} If God is Love, I reasoned, He'll make sure I don't have any trials.

But as I became more seriously interested in Christian Science, I realized that I couldn't expect to practice this Science by following only some of its teachings and skipping over others. What I needed was a deeper understanding and appreciation of its statements, even if this meant learning the hard way.

And so it was. For a while there, one trial after another kept coming, each bigger than the last. "O God, when will they ever end?" I cried out one day. The same week, I might add, both of those unfavorite citations of mine were in the Bible Lesson.^{The Bible Lessons are published in the Christian Science Quarterly.} It was definitely time to learn from them!