SOMETIMES I TAKE NOTE of how consistently I pause to see others as spiritually perfect—just as Jesus did. Maybe this is something we're all striving to be better at, in our own way. For me, it wasn't something I ever really thought about until a healing experience a number of years ago opened my eyes.

At the beginning of my senior year in college, I had a good lesson in "standing guard" at the door of my thoughts, and more important had a refresher on the Golden Rule from the Bible—treating others the way I wanted to be treated.

The summer before school started, my mom had moved from the home where I grew up to take a new job halfway across the country, and I found myself working in a new city. Things were going fairly well, when about halfway through the summer, I noticed a dry, red rash on my face. I didn't think much of it, or really give it any attention. However, a few weeks later, I noticed that the affected patch of skin had grown larger, and the rash had become very conspicuous. I tried different moisturizers and lotions, but nothing seemed to get rid of it. In fact, co-workers and friends had started inquiring about the condition. While I wasn't really praying consistently about the situation, I comforted myself with the knowledge that God saw only perfection and beauty. I held on to that spiritual fact, but also kind of gave in to apathy and thought, "If I don't focus on it, it'll go away soon."

It was nearing the end of the summer, and I was so excited to go back to school, where I felt I'd be surrounded by the support of my classmates. I began the drive back with a close friend. At one point, we stopped for lunch, and I was telling this friend, also a Christian Scientist, how eager I was to find healing, and also how happy I was to be going back to school. We spoke about the concept of true beauty, and letting my spiritual identity shine through, despite the rash on my face. Soon, I arrived on campus confident and inspired.

But my sunny attitude quickly deflated when questions about my face came up that first week back on campus. I felt discouraged and upset that the rash was still so noticeable and embarrassing. Instead of feeling that I could focus on healing, I was confronted with speculation about the rash at every turn. So I immediately called a Christian Science practitioner for prayerful support.

Over the next few days, we prayed and discussed Mary Baker Eddy's definition of oil in Science and Health: "Consecration; charity; gentleness; prayer; heavenly inspiration" (p. 592). It suddenly made sense to counteract the mental concept of "dryness," or lack of inspiration, with a spiritual sense of moisture. Yet I couldn't quite make a connection on any deep level. It hadn't dawned on me just where studying that description of oil from Science and Health was taking me.

Weeks passed with no physical change. I was becoming quite frustrated, when one day a friend, also a Christian Scientist, and I had lunch. I shared my frustrations, both with the persistent physical symptoms and with the comments of others. "How dare they?" I said. Her response was so incredibly simple. "Are you seeing each person you encounter as God's image and likeness? If not, how can you expect them to see you that way?" she said.

All of a sudden, something just clicked for me. I realized I'd actually been caught in a trap of judging the very people I felt were judging me! Each day I'd think things like, "I can't believe she's wearing that" or "He's so annoying." I was accepting less than spiritual perfection from people I saw around campus. Yet I was upset that they were seeing less than spiritual perfection in me. Suddenly, a line from Science and Health I'd repeated hundreds of times in my life made sense on a whole new level: "And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure" (p. 497).

From that day on, I made a conscious effort not only to give up negative thoughts about those around me, but to affirm the beauty of each person (including myself) as a child of God. Within days, the condition that had persisted for months cleared up completely, and it has never returned.

Shortly after this experience, I began to understand why the Christian Science practitioner had introduced that definition of oil into my prayers. I needed to recognize the spiritual "oil" in my life. I could express a little more "charity" and "gentleness." By seeing this beauty in others as well as in myself, I noticed a transformation in my entire school life that year. As an athlete, I had a much more successful and enjoyable sports season, I did very well academically, and at the end of the year, I had the opportunity to study abroad. These lessons in guarding my thought, and purifying my thinking about all of God's children, turned out to be the perfect preparation for my time overseas. It was a spiritual milestone I won't forget. css

This article first appeared on spirituality.com.