The Bible verse “How is the gold become dim!” (Lamentations 4:1) describes exactly how I felt. The spark, that effervescent joy and enthusiasm that had so vividly marked my love of Christian Science and impelled my commitment to its practice, now seemed so dim. Where had it gone? Christian Science was my way of life. How had my mission lost the oomph that had made it so alive? 

I remember praying all morning, trying to drum up this sense of joy, but to no avail. Then, on the way home from work, I got God’s answer from a bumper sticker on the car in front of me. It said: “Be alert. The world needs more lerts.” The quirky humor of it was exactly what I needed. Immediately, I thanked God for that wake-up call. 

I realized that the spark hadn’t gone anywhere. This was God’s way of waking me up to the need to hug, hold, and keep this spontaneous joy. How? By staying alert, alive, and awake to, as well as aware of, God—moment by moment throughout each day. God’s allness, onlyness, and goodness impel the spark, or special joyfulness, in our individual practice of Christian Science.