Prayer turns a downhill struggle into a walk in the woods

My husband and I were having dinner with friends this past summer when one mentioned that he had lost his “down.” He explained that he had measured how many miles he could walk downhill before his knees became so painful he couldn’t continue. His remarks were just a passing comment to our other companion, but they returned to me forcefully while my husband and I were spending a few weeks hiking in the mountains.

After my first hike, my knees began to hurt—but it was only when we were going downhill. Since I didn’t have any trouble with them after I got off the mountain, or even walking uphill, I didn’t think much more about it until a few days later.

Well, a few hikes, and a lot more “down,” later—each step more painful—I needed to lean on my husband in order to walk home. Even going down stairs was difficult. I wondered if I was experiencing what my friend had mentioned, Was I losing my “down”?

This would not do. It was time—past time—to pray.

For many years now, I’ve turned to God, divine Love, when I’m not feeling well or when I’m hurt. I’ve found healing through what prayer has shown me about God and about my own spiritual nature. One of the first things I thought about in this case was a hymn. The first verse describes the joy of walking with God, divine Love, and I couldn’t imagine my knees being painful if I was doing that:

    I walk with Love along the way,
    And O, it is a holy day;
    No more I suffer cruel fear,
    I feel God’s presence with me here;
    The joy that none can take away
    Is mine; I walk with Love today.
    (Christian Science Hymnal, No.139)

As I continued praying, I turned to this passage in the book of Isaiah in the Bible: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

I prayed to understand that my strength and my ability to walk—either up or down—have their source in God. I could lean on divine Love, God, to support and comfort me.

Well, a few days later I faced another hike—up another steep mountain. I considered sitting this one out. There would be a whole lot of “down” at the end of that hike! But my prayers had comforted and strengthened me, so I went along.

At the end of the day there was a lot of pain. I almost couldn’t take another step. My husband held my hand to help me. I took each step prayerfully, and declared (sometimes audibly), “Every step I take strengthens me. I feel God’s comfort and support.”

This wasn’t just a way of talking myself into feeling good. The statement was based on my prayers. It had a Biblical basis—those who trust in God “shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Another book that helps me understand my relation with God is Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. The author, Mary Baker Eddy, wrote: “Man . . . is not made up of brain, blood, bones, and other material elements. The Scriptures inform us that man is made in the image and likeness of God.”

Each day, especially before we went on a hike, I would pray to understand better that I am made in God’s likeness, in divine Love’s image. My substance, I reasoned, is not muscles, tendons, bones, but spiritual ideas—ideas like strength, courage, comfort, peace, painlessness, endurance. These are some ideas God created me with, so I am held secure in God. My true selfhood is spiritual, which means that it can’t be hurt—either by going up or down a mountain.

No matter what we’re faced with—loss of “up” or “down,” pain, discouragement, fear—God’s love is available on the highest mountain and in the deepest valley. The last verse of the hymn is a wonderful invitation to continue walking this way—walking with Love—wherever we are:

    Come, walk with Love along the way,
    Let childlike trust be yours today;
    Uplift your thought, with courage go,
    Give of your heart’s rich overflow,
    And peace shall crown your joy-filled day.
    Come, walk with Love along the way.

Another hike—and this time I had my “down,” complete and intact. God’s care for His children is constant, and I could feel it!

Walk with Love:

Science and Health
475:5-9
199:25

King James Bible
Isa. 40:31
Prov. 3:23