'How easily mends the moon'

I awoke one morning with sun slanting through my window, announcing a bright spring day. But I felt terrible and itchy. Throwing back the covers, I saw a rash running the length of my arms, legs, hands, and feet.

I grew up in a Christian Science household with parents whose first response to physical, social, and professional problems was prayer. They taught me that prayer is not about trying to get God’s attention and begging for help. Rather, it is about recognizing that we are included in God’s divine order of being, and aligning our thoughts and actions with His universal laws of wholeness, balance, and well-being.

Still true to this prayerful approach to problem solving, I tried to collect my thoughts and replace any feelings of irritation (in all senses of the word) with the idea of this divinely balanced being. I tried to steer my consciousness toward the Divine by making a mental list of everything I was grateful for, but I was so distracted by my prickly skin that I couldn’t bring a single uplifting thought into focus for more than a few seconds.

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