The most meaningful healing I’ve had in recent years is the restoration of my harmonious relationship with one of my brothers—a relationship that had been shattered for ten years. When my two siblings and I were to inherit half of a duplex and the surrounding garden, contact with one brother became so contentious that my other brother and I were legally prevented from contacting him directly. The strained relationship arose because he wanted to have his portion of the inheritance paid out immediately, even though no decisions had been made about how we were going to handle it or when a sale might be considered.

I found inspiring guidance in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son and his return home (see Luke 15:11–32). Just as the father never gave up on the son who was believed to be lost, for all those years I, as a sister, would not give up on my divinely established connection to my brother, even if it wasn’t possible to connect with him in calls or letters. 

It was true, too, that he continued to be a child of God. The negative changes didn’t belong to God and His expression. I knew from my study of Christian Science that this divine expression of God includes each one of us. 

Over time, I realized that my brother was still the sibling I had known from childhood, but that he had been wrongly influenced. These influences could not endure in the light of Christ, which is “a divine influence ever present in human consciousness” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. xi). By praying this way, I was able to separate evil beliefs from my brother’s identity and character. They had never touched or harmed the child of God.

I often thought of these words from Hymn 126 in the Christian Science Hymnal:

I certainly love my Father-Mother God, so what would stop me from loving my brother, too? Chapter 13 of the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Christians at Corinth reminded me of the patient love that does not attribute evil to anyone and never gives up.

The first bright spots on the path to a solution came when the lawyer told us that the prohibition on direct contact with my brother had been lifted.

Some time passed, and I continued praying. Then suddenly my brother called me and asked if he could come to stay with me for a couple of weeks to move a work project forward. At first, I agreed without hesitation, but then I noticed that doubts, such as “Be careful. He’s dishonest,” tried to creep in.

One of my favorite passages from the Christian Science textbook helped me: “Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts” (Science and Health, p. 261). I followed this instruction and held to what is enduring, good, and true about my brother.

When he stood in front of me, having rung my doorbell using the pattern we had used as children, all feelings of disgruntlement were dispelled. It turned out that he had removed himself from a situation that had perversely influenced him. He felt redeemed. We spent truly beautiful weeks in long, harmonious conversations that even touched on previously difficult and contentious subjects. Since the reconciliation, the sale of the house has gone forward amicably, and I’ve happily accepted his invitation to vacation with him in the Black Forest.

I am deeply grateful for this experience and what it taught me about holding to the truth about man’s true identity and persisting in love. I would like to close by quoting I Corinthians 13:13: “Now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

Name Withheld