A night in the woods
A night out in the woods near The Lost Wonder Hut, a cabin in the Rocky Mountains at about 11,000 feet, should have sounded like an adventure. But I was apprehensive. First of all, the overnight was solo. Each of the teens in my group was spending the night in a different part of the woods—alone. Second of all, I’d heard stories from others who’d done the solo overnight before … and they were almost all bad. I didn’t want to have the kind of experience they’d had.
Around dinner time, a few hours before we were to leave, I developed a very severe headache. The idea of spending this solo with a headache made me dread the experience even more.
I was feeling sorry for myself when two of my friends joined me and began reading the Christian Science Bible Lesson with me. One of them even shared a healing she’d had of a headache. While I wanted to be healed, and all the thoughts they shared with me were really good ones, I was still struggling. A few minutes later it was dinner time, and one of the chaperones came over and sent the other girls to dinner.
My chaperone reminded me of something I’d learned in Christian Science Sunday School: There is only one Mind, God, and this perfect, harmonious Mind includes no pain. Mind is also all-powerful and good, so Mind would never allow pain, or even the thought of pain, anywhere in its creation. She told me that whenever the headache bothered me, I could think about the one Mind and what this meant for me.
Every time the thought of the headache came, all I had to do was go back to that simple but powerful idea of “one Mind.”
I have always loved thinking about Mind as a synonym for God, and this gave me a new view on it as truly all-governing. I thought about how if there really is only one Mind, then that Mind must lovingly control everything I do—every thought and every action—and everything every other child of God does, too. This has really helped me pray for the world more effectively by knowing that there can be no conflict in divine Mind.
After praying this way, I was feeling a little better and went to join my group. As I did, another chaperone came and sat next to me, and we talked about the beautiful trees surrounding us in the mountains. Every time the thought of the headache came, all I had to do was go back to that simple but powerful idea of “one Mind” and then continue with the conversation. By the end of our discussion, I was completely healed of both the headache and the fear of the overnight.
I finished preparing for the solo and trekked out into the woods. When I sat down in my sleeping bag, I was really able to enjoy the peace that was encompassing me. That night my thought was uplifted, and I was so happy to be healed. I felt so close to God. And I didn’t have any problems sleeping. I slept the whole night and woke up feeling rested.
While the overnight did prove to be a wonderful adventure, what’s meant the most to me is the healing I experienced. The power of that simple truth of one Mind has remained foremost in my thoughts and has been a source of inspiration for other healings as well.
I am so grateful for all Christian Science has done for me in my life. It has truly been a blessing.
