WELCOME December 10, 2001 Issue

To counteract poison

Jewel Simmons

If you're like me, the fear of contamination, contagion, or poisoning may not be something you feel you have to really worry about on a daily basis. Yet, these days a nagging thought presents itself. It says that if you aren't careful, you might open a letter containing anthrax or drink some water that you shouldn't have or breathe in something harmful, even fatal. Or, you may be someone more directly affected by crises currently playing themselves out in the United States and around the globe. When a frightening thought or circumstance surfaces, what can you do?

I've had occasions to pray when dealing with poisoning in one form or another—a severe case of sumac poisoning, violent reactions to food (for one example, see testimony, p. 24), and accidental exposure to toxic gas. I found that when you are feeling as sick as I was and are praying for your health and life, it comes down to weighing each thought, moment by moment, as it comes into consciousness. Each minute becomes a precious chance to seek and affirm a healing thought. And when you reach out to God, each thought He sends you is a healing message—an antidote.

In those situations the prayers, the antidotes, that brought healing were these: that God's love brings comfort; that God alone truly sustains my life; that the power of God can neutralize organic disorder; that I live and breathe in God's protective atmosphere where nothing on earth—no gas or chemical or disease—can overshadow God's power or threaten my life.

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To counteract poison

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