SHE wanted to be a practitioner, wanted to give her whole time to the beautiful work of healing the sick, reassuring the frightened, restoring the lost to the right path, heartening the discouraged with the strong, firm word of Truth. She wanted to bind up the broken-hearted, to give "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." She had thought, when after years of waiting the privilege of class instruction at last was hers, that the fulfillment of this great ideal was very near. But even yet she could not say that as much as half of her time was given to spiritual work. The material care and toil necessary to the upkeep of the home devolved upon her; she was still treading the grooves between the cupboard, the stove, and the kitchen sink. It seemed to her that her feet had worn a triangular rut, out of which she could never lift them. Self-condemnation pressed heavily upon her. Where was the joy of service when she could demonstrate no better than this? She was not fit to be a practitioner after all!

Out of the depths of discouragement she wrote to a valued worker for some word of counsel; and in reply came a letter so compassionate, so understanding, so loving, that its tender message gave her an entirely new viewpoint and set her heart to singing again. The letter pointed out that we must be patient with this problem of material thoughttaking, lest while solving it we make it bigger to our sense. Then followed a triumphant statement to the effect that spiritual activities soar on eagles' wings above the material, and cannot be obscured or obstructed.

Now, the written word is not all we receive with a letter. It is often accompanied by little flocks of thoughts which the written word implies. This message brought with it (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 396; Poems, p. 12)

which filled consciousness and unfolded hour by hour. Since spiritual activities soar on eagles' wings above the material, the student thought, then I do not have to think on the level that my hands are working; my thinking capacity is not bound to the material task. And thought, thus liberated, sprang joyously upward. Another angelic inspiration was, What am I doing in the kingdom of heaven this morning? In what real activity am I engaged? This opened up a wonderful vista of possibilities, and set the worker to translating symbols back into their spiritual actualities. The humble tasks of washing, scrubbing, and cleaning were seen to be the manifesting of purity, which is an attribute of Soul, Spirit, God. Putting things to rights about the house was demonstrating the order which the poet declared to be "Heaven's first law." Making the home attractive and restful, in welcome for those who were absent during the day and for the guest whom Love might send—this was manifesting the tenderness of the Father-Mother, who provides for every possible need of the children. In the preparing of meals, consciousness was released from some of its earth-weights by the realization that, as Mrs. Eddy says in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 222), "Truth regenerates this fleshly mind and feeds thought with the bread of Life."

In the garden the spiritual fact was remembered that God, infinite Mind, made "every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew;" and this relieved the caretaker of a great sense of personal responsibility, so that she could enjoy her garden more and toil there less. And day by day the garden responded to the unfoldment of unlabored beauty, until it was no longer an anxiously cared-for nursery, but a lovely sanctuary for quiet meditation and refreshment.

Many verses of Scripture, many lines from our Leader's writings, poured into the waiting thought of this willing listener, as she worked more consciously under the direction of divine wisdom. When facing necessary tasks, she would say to herself cheerfully, " 'Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.' " It seemed to her very necessary and right that the home of a Christian Scientist should be clean, orderly, full of brightness and sweet odors; that the household program should be well thought out and everyone's needs be given due consideration, in order that the highest possible degree of harmony humanly obtainable under the circumstances might prevail. Thus only can the present sense of rightness, or righteousness, be fulfilled, and the members of the household be fitted to receive progressively higher impartations of God's requirements and of His infinite love.

The home-maker found her tasks greatly lightened; she was shown where to be careful, and where not to be deceived into wasting precious moments on nonessentials. She learned to do both her mental and her material work without procrastination, so that no wearying accumulation of work ahead should darken the outlook. There was no longer a burdened submission to material tasks, but a growing sense of dominion over them. A constantly maintained mental protest against the mesmerism of drudgery usurping the place of spiritual service was found to be effectual in furthering freedom.

Science and Health makes this clear demand (p. 393): "Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed on man." By degrees this persistent right rebellion won, and spiritual activities no longer waited on material convenience. The home-maker became more and more the practitioner, prepared to answer each call for help immediately; for the work in hand could be put aside and resumed without reluctance or confusion. Slavery to routine was abolished. She learned to take time, without grudging, to enjoy Love's gifts as they came—a rainbow or a beautiful sunset, birds at the fountain, a garden visit with the neighbors' little children, an opportunity for an outing, the unexpected visit of a friend—many happifying variations of the daily program which a mistaken sense of duty had all too often turned away.

These words of a hymn bring thoughts of how this daily translation can be effected: