Article September 2, 2013 Issue

Gardening lessons

Susan Lapointe

One spring morning while out gardening, I saw parallels to my spiritual practice in Christian Science. The gardening tools I was using were very simple, yet effective: a hoe, a rake, a pail. Christian Science gives me basic effective tools. I have the Bible’s Ten Commandments; the Sermon on the Mount, which includes the Beatitudes; numerous parables; and examples of Christ Jesus’ healing work. And I have the indispensable key to those Christian teachings: Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. All these tools have as their essence the simple fact of God’s absolute goodness that results in good alone. That fact applies to every situation that calls for healing in my daily life.

These are some lessons that have bolstered both my gardening work and my spiritual practice, and they’ve also brought healing to my experience: 

I know God, Truth, helps me unfailingly to distinguish between the right thought and the wrong, the one that reflects God’s goodness and the one that does not. And I have the authority to weed out any less-than-good thought, thus preventing its taking root and, almost unknown to me, wreaking havoc in multiple areas of my experience, just as spreading weeds might efface an otherwise beautiful garden. I need not be distraught if mistaken thoughts, like weeds, try to make inroads. If necessary, I can, one by one, keep at it until there’s nothing left but pure loveliness in thought and experience.