Walking in 'the way'
My parents left Christian Science when I was a teenager. The sudden loss of Sunday School attendance for me, and my parents’ loss of faith, was jarring, but I still felt unshakably convinced that Christian Science was the Comforter promised by Christ Jesus (see John 14:26 ).
When I asked my father why I felt that way even after he and Mom had stopped attending church and practicing Christian Science, he paused a moment, then quoted from Isaiah (30:21 ): “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” That answer satisfied my heart.
Since my parents didn’t renew our subscriptions to the Christian Science Quarterly, I kept rereading the Bible Lessons in the last Quarterly we’d received. A few years later, I started attending a university. Very soon, I noticed the Christian Science College Organization building across campus. I felt as if I had come home, so I began attending meetings and soon joined. I was also thrilled to be attending Sunday School again at the local branch church!
During this time, I was introduced to a woman who was a Christian Science teacher. When we met, she paused and looked at me. Suddenly she asked if my parents’ first names were so-and-so. I said yes. She scooped me into her arms with tears and hugged me. It took me a moment to realize that she was my parents’ Christian Science teacher! We spoke for a while that day. Soon I was accepted into her next class and began making plans to attend. I felt that this was the right step and the right time. All of the arrangements fell into place beautifully, and my parents were completely supportive.
Later on, after I was appointed secretary of my association, my mother re-aligned with The Mother Church and our association. I was delighted to welcome her back and appreciated her active support during my 12 years of service as secretary. Mom eventually joined a branch church again and experienced an instantaneous healing of what was apparently bronchial pneumonia.
Dad was in his 90s when he came to spend the last 18 months of his life with me. On his second day at my house, he requested something to read. I felt compelled to give him a copy of Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which he kept by his chair and read until his final day with us. I later discovered that he had underlined passages that meant something to him.
In a life filled with healings through prayer and study, how do I keep track of them? My Christian Science teacher encouraged her students to log healings in a journal. She assured us that when challenges arose, we could review our healing journal for comfort and strength. Recalling previous triumphs would nullify any temptation to believe that we didn’t “know enough” to meet and master a difficulty. Years later, my notes assisted me when I was led to share healings by submitting articles and testimonies for publication in The Christian Science Journal and Sentinel.
As a result of class instruction, my journey continues to lead me away from the “selfs,” self-love, self-will, self-justification, and into genuine compassion and love. Lessons learned from class have taken root and bloomed.
