My strong foundation

I had the opportunity to go to Greece with my high school Bible class. For ten days we traveled around the country to follow one of the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul from the Bible and to learn more about what he wrote in the New Testament. Our teacher said that following Paul’s travels and learning where his writings came from would give us a deeper understanding of the Bible. 

At the beginning of the trip, I was feeling under the weather. I had trouble breathing and felt tired and weak. I was worried that the discomfort would ruin my trip. I’m a Christian Scientist and have seen healings through prayer in my family, so I wanted to pray about it. But I was feeling frustrated that I wasn’t able to have an immediate healing, despite all that I was learning about God.

While we were in Athens, my teacher, who is also a Christian Scientist, gave a talk about the kind of mental foundation we are building on. This talk was based on one of Jesus’ parables in the Bible (see Matthew 7:24–27). In one part of the parable, a foolish man builds his house on sand. When a storm comes, the house falls because the foundation isn’t strong enough. But when a wiser man builds his house on a rock, the house stands firm through the storm. My teacher’s point was that just as it is important to choose a solid foundation when building a house, our faith needs to be built on the strong foundation of Jesus’ teachings. 

I was worried the discomfort would ruin my trip.

I thought about how God is reliable and unchanging, even during a “storm” like sickness or some other problem. God is Truth, and Truth is my rock. This means I can trust God and listen to and follow what He is telling me about who I am as His child. I don’t have to listen to any thoughts that tell me anything that isn’t good. Those thoughts are built on sand, and they have no real foundation because they don’t come from God. This idea was really helpful, and I started to understand that healing comes from trusting God and every good thought God is giving me.

Another idea that helped me came from a verse Paul wrote. It says, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (II Corinthians 5:1). What this meant to me is that my true home isn’t a geographical location but is the kingdom of heaven—which is everywhere, since God’s goodness is always present. So no matter where I go, I’m firmly established by God in a place of security, where there is no room for illness or anything else that isn’t good. 

I focused on understanding that God sees me, His expression, as perfect—always good and healthy. This was a strong foundation I could count on.

These ideas gave me a lot of comfort, and I stopped feeling that I couldn’t be healed. Instead, I focused on understanding that God sees me, His expression, as perfect—always good and healthy. This was a strong foundation I could count on. By the next morning, I was completely healed. I ended up having a great time during the rest of my travels in Greece, and I also came away from the trip with a strong desire to learn more about God. 

I could not be more grateful for the Bible class at my school and for this experience in Greece, because they gave me a better foundation for my understanding of God.