Article October 10, 2005 Issue

A TIME TO DANCE

By Dianne Jarrette

Persistent prayers—the author's own and those of a Christian Science practitioner—eventually broke the hold of a debilitating illness.

THERE ARE TIMES when life's messiness is manageable. For instance, during a project in our home, construction work made things very messy, but I could see that in the end the results were going to be beautiful. I also could see that the process was necessary to accomplish our goal, and the bumps along the way didn't have to be discouraging. So I wasn't tempted to give up, or be disappointed at how terrible everything looked. Nor did I have to be upset or angry with "the mess." I could focus on what I knew would be a good result.

But have you ever wondered when the problems were going to stop coming? Ever felt that life was just too messy? A few years back, I was in very poor health and felt very discouraged. My health had deteriorated over a period of years to the point where I had no strength or energy to keep up with my daily activities. I was trying to continue working full-time and take care of my family and home, but it was extremely difficult.