Teens April 2, 2018 Issue

No ‘smell of fire’

Kelsey Hanser

I was playing capture the flag at camp when I fell and injured my knee. I couldn’t walk. I was terrified; nothing like this had ever happened to me before. I had never needed to rely on Christian Science for something this “big” before.

My brother was very helpful and shared an article with me from The Christian Science Journal (March 1928). It was called “ ‘Nor the smell of fire’ ” by Vera E. Barndollar, and reading it brought me some comfort. The article talks about the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the Bible and the way they emerged completely untouched, without even the smell of fire on them, after being thrown into the fiery furnace. The author makes the point that the “smell of fire” can be seen as the belief that something awful happened to us, and that an understanding of God’s presence and power helps remove any lingering belief that we’ve been through something difficult or painful.

The article helped me realize that, by accepting this injury, I was accepting the suggestion that there was a singular moment when I was outside of God’s protection. Knowing my oneness with God and that there never was a moment when I had been separated from God, meant I didn’t have to try to heal the effects from an injury. In reality, there was no injury to heal, since nothing bad had occurred. There was no “smell of fire”!

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