Demanding, awakening, exhilarating

My path to Christian Science class instruction, and to the immense blessings that followed, had some interesting twists and turns. Let me explain: Raised in a loving Christian Science family, I breezed happily through childhood, learning to love and apply the truths I learned in Sunday School and experiencing many healings through prayer. After college I began to consider Primary class instruction. Why? Well, mostly because it’s “what you did” in my family. My mom and older sister were class-taught, so it seemed as if I should follow along. Pretty shallow thinking, I’ll admit. Certainly, I loved the truths of Christian Science and desired to learn how to heal better—but those more genuine motives at first took a back seat to some superficial layers of self-will.

So I plunged ahead: How to find the right teacher? That was easy (or so I thought). My sister’s Christian Science teacher was in my home state, but I had moved halfway across the country. Perfect! The yearly association meeting would bring a built-in annual vacation and visit with my family. That’s when things got sticky. In an interview with my sister’s teacher, I hit a bump in the road: He asked if I intended to become a Christian Science practitioner. That question not only frightened me—I was offended! Me? In the public practice? Are you kidding? My self-designed path in life most certainly didn’t include becoming a practitioner. I headed for the door, as quickly as I could.

Some months later I learned about another Christian Science teacher, who happened to be visiting my area. A quiet nudging, which I felt to be from God, told me to request an appointment. We struck a sweet and natural rapport, and when I asked if he expected his pupils to go into the practice, I loved his gentle answer. He said we take many steps in life. If class instruction was what God was preparing for me now, I should follow that leading, trusting that “the steps of a good man [or woman] are ordered by the Lord” (Psalms 37:23). God would take care of all my footsteps in life, at His direction, not mine.

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A lesson in (meta)physics
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