Anna’s Mother - Christian Science Sentinel, Dec. 3, 2007
When my daughter asked for a snake for her birthday, I gulped in dread. Ever since she was a small child, she’d been fascinated with reptiles and fearless with the ones she met at petting zoos and at pet shops. I, on the other hand, had a lifelong fear of snakes and had largely managed to avoid them. One time when I found a king snake in the greenhouse of our New Mexico home, I had to call a neighbor to remove it while I hid in another room. Disturbed as I was at the thought of living with a snake, I felt that my anxiety was not a valid enough reason to turn down my daughter’s request. She’d put in many hours of research, proving herself ready and able to care for an animal. She encouraged me by writing up pages of information with pictures of the type of snake she’d selected and spoke enthusiastically about the attractive appearance and disposition of the breed she’d chosen.
by Meg Dendler
I had a wonderful lesson in humility and spiritual listening while I was working at summer camp last year. My role during this particular session was to serve as a Christian Science practitioner for a group of 34 high school students in the camp’s junior leadership program. Along with prayerful support and answering questions, the job often put me in the role of counselor and helping hand.
Anna - Christian Science Sentinel, Nov. 5, 2007
My school days are jam-packed with activity.
Before the sun is even up in the morning, I’m off to school where I scurry from one class to the next. When the bell rings at the end of the school day, I hop in the car to get a ride home, ready for another schedule of events—sometimes soccer practice, ballet class, or a piano lesson, doing my homework in between. Even though it can be tempting to find the incessant bustle and buzz of my busy days exhausting, my reliance on God for strength and intelligence provides me with an endless source of energy.
by Pamela Cook
I have been reading a lot in recent months about what Mary Baker Eddy said about controlling the weather, first in a book called Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Healer and more recently in a daily diary kept by one of Mrs. Eddy’s household workers in 1903.
This summer we have had numerous unusually strong storms, with thunder, lightning, hail, and pounding rain against the windows. A few weeks ago I realized that I felt afraid every time this occurred; every clap of thunder made me jumpy and I was gritting my teeth and waiting for the storm to pass. This is not what Mrs. Eddy instructed those who worked for her to do. She told them there are no clouds; there is no evil, no destructive weather.
Dorothy P. - The Christian Science Journal, Jan. 2008
I had an experience in my sophomore year of high school that really challenged my ability to feel God in my life. I swim on my high school swim team. I’m always nervous before races, but this particular year, fear paralyzed me. I felt nauseous throughout each race. I swim the long races—200– and 500–meter freestyle—so that’s a long time to feel sick and sluggish.
As always, I turned to God for help, but my prayers were empty. I felt as though God had forgotten me. I even called a Christian Science practitioner for help, but I completely fell apart at Sectionals and States—two big swim meets. This situation caused me to greatly doubt my ability to pray. I kept wondering what I was doing wrong. I never doubted God, but I did doubt my ability to practice Christian Science.
My mom was a great help. She assured me that God had not forgotten me and that I would be able to find healing. However, she told me not to wait until the next swim season to pray about this. So the summer between my sophomore and junior year was spent in prayer and study. Every day I read the Bible Lesson, which consists of passages from the Bible and from Science and Health. I also read the Journal and Christian Science Sentinel magazines and listened to Radio Sentinel. I saw how other people, who often had much worse problems than mine, prayed and were healed. That was greatly encouraging.
by Inge Schmidt
It had been a long Thursday. There had been a paper to write, an abrasive person to deal with, and seemingly countless other small things weighing me down. But in spite of a day’s worth of consecrated prayer, I crawled into bed that night pretty sure that I had made no progress that day. Close to tears, I closed my eyes to fall asleep.
As I lay in the silence, the thought came to me: “If Fed Ex can guarantee overnight delivery, surely God can do even better.” I had to laugh out loud. The more I study Christian Science, the more I’ve gotten used to feeling the presence of God. On a regular basis, thoughts come to me that are so clearly not my own thinking, that I just know they are Love’s angel messages. But this one was stranger than usual.
Ali T. - Christian Science Sentinel, Oct. 1, 2007
My mind was churning as I contemplated and planned. What could I do next summer? It was only the fall of my sophomore year at Williams College, but I was already forecasting months ahead of time. I felt that if I was on the ball, I could do anything.
I’ve been told more than once that I over-think. Whether I’m behind the starting block at a swim meet or planning my major field of study, my mind is usually running like a faucet—and it can be hard to shut it off.
by Evan Mehlenbacher
My wife and I sat down to eat at a restaurant. An exasperated looking waitress jetted over to our table, a bit mindlessly gathered herself together, and dropped protocol for a moment while she uttered, "This is the worst day of my life."
I expected a dramatic tale of woe to follow, but after asking her what had happened, she replied, "My boss called me in early because he said the restaurant was busy, and ‘Look!’ hardly any customers are here. And then the dishwasher broke down, and I’m the appointed dishwasher." She disgustedly displayed her finely manicured and polished nails that had been recently pulled out of dirty soap and water.
by Holly Henneberger
My journey with Christian Science has been a whirlwind these last few months. I’ve grown up in the church and have been faithful to it. And since coming to college, I feel my spiritual understanding flourished.
But then for the last few months, I’d experienced a so called “slump” in my enthusiasm for Christian Science. I couldn’t figure out where this feeling was coming from. Before this, I really wanted to grow and strengthen my spiritual awareness more and more.
Mark Swinney - Christian Science Sentinel, Dec. 11, 2006.
I used to know a dog that would run constantly between two doors of the house whenever his owner left. Apparently he felt so much anxiety about the separation that he almost went into a trance. I’d watch that pooch run thoughtlessly back and forth, back and forth, and whenever I could, I’d try to play with him to distract him. This would only help for a little while, though, and soon he’d return to his mechanical running. The owner always came home, but the dog’s behavior never changed.
