AS THE YEARS GO BY, it can be tempting to settle down into a comfort zone. People can grow comfortable with what they've always known and thought, instead of reaching out for fresh thoughts and views all the time—to "put on the new man," as the Apostle Paul said in the Bible (Eph. 4:24).

Thanks to prayer, I now look for what needs to be improved in my life, what progress I can be making, and what old concepts I may have let in during the day that didn't measure up to a fresher and higher point of view. There's really no point where we should start to taper off in our expression of intelligence, and vitality, and ability to comprehend and learn new things. God certainly isn't limited in what He's giving to us, His children, or to His universe. And so whatever the limitations are that we may feel, they certainly are not placed on us by God. This in itself is a beautiful reason for living and loving every day as God's expression.

Several years ago, I was struggling every day, with feeling tired and old. I felt worn out. One problem that accompanied this, and I suppose contributed to that weariness, was a condition with my feet and knees that made walking and especially going up and down stairs painful. At one point this flared up into something much more severe, so that I was in constant pain. My feet swelled to the point that I had to buy larger shoes.

During this time, I had to fly from southern California to Oregon to be with my mother, who was in a nursing home. During the flight I began a deep study of Science and Health. I had read this book constantly for many years, but I wanted to read it at a deeper level.

After I arrived, I continued this study. I was working to gain a better understanding of God and of my relationship to Him; to learn more about the qualities that I was entitled to as "an heir of God, and joint-heir with Christ," as the Bible says each of us is (see Rom. 8:17). I read some of these things aloud to my mother at times, but mostly I just studied and absorbed what I was reading.

When I returned home, I really couldn't do much around the house, so I just stayed quiet and continued with this in-depth reading. I began to see more clearly that God is the creator of all things, and that God is good. Therefore, whatever He creates must be good, because it has to be like Him. I was seeing more clearly that my identity, my expression of God as His child, should include His fresh, vital qualities.

As I thought along these lines, I recognized I had been having thoughts of jealousy, hurt feelings, self-condemnation, self-criticism. Without realizing it, I had let these thoughts become a little drum roll in the back of my mind every day. And they didn't belong there. They weren't productive; they didn't help me move forward; they didn't help me grow spiritually—and they didn't help me practice Biblical truths such as the Golden Rule and the Beatitudes. So I began to replace those negative thoughts with spiritual concepts of harmony and love for my neighbor, and for myself.

Finally, one day—it was like a candle lighting a dark room—I saw that my effort to pray and to understand God was changing my thought, and I realized this was the only change that was ever needed. I discovered that as my thought changed for the better, the physical condition changed with it. The physical outwardly expresses what is in thought, and mirrors the ideas we're living with every day. I began to realize just how serious Mary Baker Eddy was in claiming that God is All—that He alone is creator, that everything real is actually Godlike because it was made by Him, and that there is no other power, presence, intelligence, or life.

I was recognizing that matter had no influence or intelligence or power, because Spirit was all-power. And the physical problems began to disappear. My ankles and knees returned to normal size, and I was able to walk normally. In fact, when I went to an all-day meeting, I was able to wear high-heeled shoes with complete comfort, stand on my feet, and walk long distances without pain or difficulty.

I had also been having problems with my jaws and gums. It had been painful and difficult for me to chew or open my mouth very wide. That entire problem also disappeared through my prayer, and I was able to eat normally and comfortably once more.

And—that feeling of tiredness, of "old age," was gone! My normal level of energy and activity returned, and it has remained. Since then, I've continued to take on lots of wonderful activities, and I look forward to doing much more.

St. Paul said to the Corinthians, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (II Cor, 5:17). Mary Baker Eddy, referring to that statement of St. Paul's, wrote: "Truth makes a new creature, in whom old things pass away and 'all things are become new.' Passions, selfishness, false appetites, hatred, fear, all sensuality, yield to spirituality, and the superabundance of being is on the side of God, good" (Science and Health, p. 201). In that sentence Truth is a synonym for God. I am sure this illustrates what was happening in my consciousness, as the old concepts were replaced with fresh, new ones.