Love's impact
I had a lot to do and was racing around my apartment at warp speed one morning. I set down my mug on the kitchen counter, turned to hurry over to my computer, and cracked my head with terrific force against the corner of an overhead kitchen cabinet door I had left open.
It was as if someone had pulled my feet out from under me, and I went down flat on my back. The pain in my head was intense. I lay there for a while, going in and out of consciousness. I know at one point that one of my cats came over and lay down next to me.
The only thing that I could think was the words to “the scientific statement of being” from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy (see p. 468 ). This is a statement that Christian Science churches and Sunday Schools read at the end of every Sunday service and is probably the first thing I ever memorized as a little girl in Sunday School. It starts out: “There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all.”
Those words and their meaning kept revolving in my head. After a while I was able to sit up; then I was able to stand up. However, I still didn’t feel like myself and was having trouble concentrating. But I remembered that I had not yet listened to “Your Daily Lift.” I try to listen every day. I am signed up to be notified about these Lifts by e-mail, so I went to my inbox to find the message. The topic for that day was “Love’s impact” by Nate Frederick (see christianscience.com/Loves-impact). It was so helpful.
The speaker talked about an experience he had while riding a moped and being hit by a landscaping truck at full speed. He was knocked unconscious, but quickly regained consciousness, got up, and was even able to comfort the driver. He emphasized that divine Love, God, is the only thing that impacts us. Even when we seem to be hit by material things or circumstances, only Love can impact us.
After I listened to this, it seemed as if a fresh breeze blew across me. My mind cleared, and I felt so much better. I was able to go about my business and finish everything I needed to do that day.
Yet, the healing wasn’t quite complete. I had to deal with the memory of the accident. Try as I might, I couldn’t seem to stop reliving the incident in my mind, and I had an ongoing headache. But I kept holding to the ideas in that “Love’s impact” Daily Lift, and knowing that even a painful memory couldn’t impact me. There is no human history, in reality—only God’s “history” of good and spiritual unfoldment. This lie of pain simply wasn’t powerful and couldn’t harm me. Within a couple of days, there were no more headaches. That was the end of the discomfort.
In the days following, I kept thinking about the experience and the meaning of the phrase “only Love can impact us.” I thought about what the word impact means. Some synonyms are: impress, influence, move, reach, strike, sway, and touch.
I thought, If Love alone can do those things, then I can’t be moved, influenced, impressed, or even touched by any element other than Love. What a great aid to decision making! What help for determining which way to go when there seems to be two or more options! Knowing that only Love can impact our every step and experience, results in a confidence and peace that only God can bring.
Claire Stoddard
New York, New York, US
