Looking for God?

                 
People all over the planet are looking for God these days.  And rightly so, since problems and conditions are frequently bigger than we can handle ourselves. Loneliness, starvation, war, political unrest, maybe a nagging physical problem, to name a few.   Even though we may look for Him (or Her) out there somewhere, ultimately true spirituality can be found within each of us. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you.” We already possess the consciousness that recognizes and experiences the Supreme Being and the power that settles our problems and harmonizes all things. We just need to tap into that divine consciousness more deeply.


Once we start looking within our minds and hearts for solutions, what will we find? There may be some mental or moral debris we want to get rid of that needs to be cleared out. The one true God Christ told us about is just what is needed to clean house.  Here’s where I find Christian Science so helpful. It articulates the very nature and power of Deity better than any other source I know, and how to apply that nature and power to overcome debilitating thoughts and tendencies.


For instance, Science and Health, written by Mary Baker Eddy, and translated into many languages, gathers specific synonyms and qualities of God used in the Bible. They in turn enable us to strengthen and focus our prayers far more than we may have thought possible. Some of those synonyms are Life, Mind, Truth, Love, Principle (law), Spirit, Soul. And qualities like love, ever presence, infinite freedom,  all-providing. When you consider that these are already within your grasp, your own consciousness, think of the potential for reformation and healing right at hand! Each one gives us an avenue to explore and utilize with divine power.  


The link, spirituality.com, may lead you to discover the good within yourself you know is there but haven’t found yet.    ///

Fall from a Bike

It's been a while since I've been on my ancient (I think it almost qualifies as an antique!) bicycle, but when my daughter challenged me to take it for a spin, I couldn't resist. But I hadn't gone ten feet when my feet slipped off the pedals and I crashed onto the driveway. One of the handlebars hooked me in the rib cage, and I heard an odd noise, followed by extreme pain when I tried to move.

I really didn't have time that day, or in the next week, to be immobile. I immediately rose with the help of my family, and decided I had to know that this event had never occurred in God's kingdom if I was to gain my dominion over the situation. Taking a stand wasn't easy, as the pain seemed, and that is all it could do, "seem," intense. I kept on with my chores, knowing I was a spiritual idea, but the pain wasn't getting better. I asked, at one point when I needed immediate help, for my husband's metaphysical support. I knew he'd been working all along, and he said to me "a spiritual idea can have no impact with a material object." The proverbial light bulb went off. I'd been knowing I was God's spiritual child, but I'd never specifically denied the impact issue.

I continued with this truth for the next week or so, every time it seemed I couldn't sleep comfortably or do something that needed doing. About ten days later, I felt truly free as I lifted some heavy boxes and slept on the seemingly affected side without pain. To say I was grateful for this evidence of God's care is an understatement. I was also grateful for my husband's metaphysical clarity about the situation, and how my need was quickly and completely met.  

Thought Awakened

Forty five years ago, my youngest brother was diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome. Labeled for life with restrictions attached! I, too, seemed to have been mesmerized by this mortal belief throughout the years. Occasionally, I would specifically work to see him as God’s spiritual idea forever being unfolded. However, a passage from this week’s lesson, entitled Life, found in the Christian Science Quarterly, has brought unexpected clarity to my thinking. I’d like to share this passage with you. It can be found on page 243, line 32 of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.

“Inasmuch as God is good and the fount of all being, He does not produce moral or physical deformity; therefore such deformity is not real, but is illusion, the mirage of error. Divine Science reveals these grand facts. On their basis Jesus demonstrated Life, never fearing nor obeying error in any form.”


Although I have read this passage before, I have now been re-awakened to stand porter and guard my thoughts against erroneous thinking!

Clearer Vision

I am a Christian Scientist who wears glasses.  You may think this is a contradiction.  Why hasn't that been healed?  Fair question.  Why does one situation persist while another, also dealing with my eyes, as is the case with this posting, is healed quickly and completely?  Another fair question.

First, I don't believe there is any condition which the presence of omnipotent Mind cannot bring into perfect harmony, the realm of the real.  Mrs. Eddy asks in Science and Health "What cannot God do?"(135:20)  Jesus made repeated encouraging statements about his followers' ability to replicate his healing power.  Most notably, for me, is, "I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also." (John 14: 12)  There are also several instances where he healed blindness.

Speaking for myself only, I think the difference lies in dedication and focus.  A problem of seeming urgency gets my full attention while something less dramatic tends to be tolerated or accommodated.  Rather than focus on what I have yet to demonstrate, I choose to express my genuine gratitude for the healings that I have experienced.

Last summer, during a routine eye exam, my optometrist became very concerned that the internal pressure in one eye was much lower than it should be and wanted me to be examined by a specialist.  I put it off for several weeks, all the time praying specifically about my vision, knowing that it was a spiritual quality and not a material condition.  When he asked me about the results and I hadn't even made an appointment, I knew I needed to do this in order to calm his concerns.

No mention of decreased pressure was made at the initial examination.  However, another situation presented itself.  Both eyes had a number of open sores on the irises.  After warning me of the potential for total blindness, the examining physician wrote several prescriptions for antibiotics and eye drops.  It surprised her, and not in a good way, when I said that I would address the situation differently.  I did not say "prayerfully" and I should have.

Her response was, "Well, you can't just wish this away."  I had no intention of trying to do that.  She insisted on a follow-up exam within a week.

At that exam there had been sufficient progress that she no longer pressed for the drops and ointment.  Instead, she noted healing was taking place when she said, "Whatever you're doing -- keep doing it."  Another exam was scheduled.

At this third exam she declared all the sores had healed.  There was a big BUT.  The "but" was that the healing process had left scars where each sore had been.  She told me that I was very lucky that the sores had not been over the pupils because the obstruction resulting form the scars would have left permanent blind spots.

God doesn't lead us part way.  Omnipotence doesn't provide partial victories.  There was still work to do.  There was no compromising with this error.  I continued my prayers, seeing myself as God sees me, perfect.

A  subsequent exam with my regular optometrist revealed that neither problem existed or left any evidence of ever having existed.  Pressure was normal.   There were no scars.

I'm a Christian Scientist who still wears glasses, but with a clearer sense of vision.