Warmth instead of coldness

A couple of weeks before this past Christmas, I began feeling cold symptoms trying to creep in. I had many commitments connected with my work that were necessary for me to keep, so my response to resist this idea of sickness was more immediate than usual.

I called a Christian Science practitioner to pray with me. She told me that it was a “sense of cold” I was feeling; there was no reality to this claim of sickness. How true! Something also sparked in my mind when she said this. For several days I had been coming into contact with people’s “bah humbug” attitudes. Since Christmas is such a special occasion to Christians everywhere, I found this negative outlook quite disturbing. To me, this was also a “sense of cold” or a kind of coldness—not the warm welcome receptivity to the Christ that we yearn to experience.

The symptoms of this physical cold quickly dissipated, but much more important, I decided to recognize the Christ in those I was communicating with even more. As I expressed the joy and gratitude that comes with the advent of the Christ in our hearts and lives, I also truly wanted others to feel this love that epitomizes the spirit of Christ. And soon enough, I am very grateful to say, I began recognizing quite a turnaround in the attitudes of some of those individuals. Instead of a “sense of cold,” I started feeling the sense of warmth and love for God and mankind that characterize the holiday season. There was much spiritual growth during this experience, and I’m very grateful.

Janet Dillingham
Lakewood, Colorado, US

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