Defend thought
One day several months ago, I went for my usual morning run and was off to a fine start. I should mention that I had just started Primary class instruction in Christian Science, and this was the morning of my second day. I was in a terrific mood and all my thoughts were turned to God. I had intended to listen to my “secular” music, but when I turned on my iPod, a hymn was playing—so I just left things where they were, on a playlist of hymns. I knew that God was telling me this was what I should be listening to on this particular morning, so I went with it.
About a half a mile into my planned four-mile run, I came to a place that turns onto a downhill slope—always a fun part of any run—while at the same time listening to a rousing hymn that really had me rejoicing with God and feeling very loved and inspired. Suddenly, I found myself falling through the air (remember, this is downhill), coming down hard on the pavement. I had the wind knocked out of me and was pretty well shaken.
Looking behind to see what had made me fall, I saw only a straggly little twig, no more than a half-inch in diameter. I couldn’t believe that I had not seen it, and that something so insignificant could have made me lose my balance. Checking for damage, I saw nothing serious apart from some pretty nasty scrapes. When I got to my feet, I knew I had two choices: keep going or go home. Knowing that God was with me as He always is, I had no doubt that I could finish the run.
As I continued on, what kept coming to thought was how such a little branch could have literally brought me to my knees! As I contemplated this, I had another little slip. I looked down and saw another small stick, again a half inch in diameter and probably about six inches long. It then came to me with striking clarity that a lesson I could take away from this experience was that I always had to be watchful and aware of anything in my path—and not just on my running routes, but in my thinking, too.
I needed to guard against any thought that might attempt to separate me from my understanding and love of God. In a way, my run was a warning to be alert to the duties stated in the Manual of the Mother Church, “It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to defend himself daily against aggressive mental suggestion …” (p. 42 ) and in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, “Stand porter at the door of thought” (p. 392 ). God hadn’t made me fall, but He was communicating the need for greater mental alertness to me in a way that I clearly understood and would never forget.
One of the scrapes—on my left elbow—was worse than the others. When I got home, I cleaned and bandaged the scrapes and went happily to class. But the next morning, I went to change that bandage on my elbow and saw that the unsightly scrape was accompanied by a huge lump. It was so large that my partner was alarmed and asked me if I thought I might have broken my elbow. Knowing that God was caring for me right in that moment and that He had never allowed me to step out of His protection, I immediately answered, “Not a chance!”
The elbow healed quickly and perfectly, and neither it nor any of the other scrapes gave me an ounce of pain or a problem of any kind. As for the lesson I learned, it is one that I carry with me daily and refer to often—part of a growing library of inspired experiences that I am gathering as a new Christian Scientist.
Kim Wiklund
Towson, Maryland, US
