In one of my annual Christian Science students’ association meetings, my Christian Science teacher mentioned that there must be commitment before there can be conviction. Learning more about God is a joyful journey, and several years ago, I committed to deepening my understanding of God. 

During this period of enhanced study, most of my free time was spent reading Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, studying my notes from Christian Science class instruction, filling my thought with ideas shared in the Christian Science magazines, and praying daily with ideas from the weekly Bible Lessons outlined in the Christian Science Quarterly. 

One morning, my husband, who is not a Christian Scientist, got extremely upset with me over a spiritual insight I’d shared. He reacted in outrage, saying that all I had been doing lately was reading “that book!” (Science and Health). He said he no longer had any desire to go with me on a planned vacation the following week—and even went so far as to ask me if I wanted a divorce because maybe I was “too spiritual” for him. He remarked that he didn’t even know me, as I had changed. 

I was taken aback and tried to speak, but he didn’t seem willing to listen. There was palpable tension in the house for the rest of that day. As we were getting ready for bed that night, he told me I should sleep on the couch.

While lying on the couch, I texted a Christian Science practitioner and explained what had happened. She told me not to be afraid to serve only God. This gave me such courage to go forward and trust that Truth, God, would uncover what needed to be handled in prayer. As I prayed, it came to me so clearly that the anger and confusion my husband had displayed was not him at all. Not many days prior to this, I had been giving gratitude to God for my husband’s kindness, gentleness, ingenuity, loyalty, integrity, unselfishness, courage, and patience. 

I realized at that moment that I couldn’t be fooled into believing that he expressed anything less than these spiritual qualities. If there was something bothering him that needed to be addressed or an issue we needed to talk about as a couple, this would be revealed, and we could resolve things together. Because I knew my husband so well as the expression of God, I recognized this ugly situation as having no claim on my husband or our marriage. I realized that our exchange that morning had never been known by the one Mind, God. I understood our home to be a complete, harmonious expression of divine Love and Mind.

I awoke several times during that night and held firmly to the truth that had been revealed to me, knowing that I could expect only good. 

A passage from Science and Health directly related to my prayers. Answering the question, “Is there no sin?” Mrs. Eddy states, “All reality is in God and His creation, harmonious and eternal. That which He creates is good, and He makes all that is made. Therefore the only reality of sin, sickness, or death is the awful fact that unrealities seem real to human, erring belief, until God strips off their disguise. They are not true, because they are not of God. We learn in Christian Science that all inharmony of mortal mind or body is illusion, possessing neither reality nor identity though seeming to be real and identical” (pp. 472–473).

The next day was Sunday, and before I headed off to church, I said good morning to my husband, gave him a kiss, and told him I loved him. When we reconnected at dinnertime, we had a nice meal with our daughter, and there was very little tension. Before heading to bed, I asked him if we could talk, which he agreed to. Our conversation was calm and respectful, and we listened to each other’s thoughts and concerns. We went to bed with joy and laughter and feeling very excited for our vacation the next week. Our marriage continues to be one of mutual respect, kindness, and living “Love’s divine adventure to be All-in-all” (Mary Baker Eddy, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 158). 

Name Withheld