"You can be healed" podcast

My first podcast is online. Produced for tmcyouth.com, “You can be healed,” was posted this evening and is available for anyone to listen to.

Here’s the intro…

When Christian Science lecturer Evan Mehlenbacher was a kid, he stepped on a rusty nail and it almost went clear through his foot. He was scared, but as he thought about what he knew first hand about the healing power of God, he knew he could trust God to heal him.

Evan shares step by step his thought process, how he dealt with his fears, what he learned about God and the end result. He worked it out through prayer and shows how your prayers can heal you, too.

You can listen to the audio online, or download it to your MP3 player or ipod. Its 15 minutes long.

Enjoy!

To "Wait on the Lord"

I chuckled when I read this story of one man’s concept of what it means to “Wait on the Lord.”


WAIT UPON THE LORD ........

After starting a new diet I altered my drive to work to avoid passing my favorite bakery.

I accidentally drove by the bakery this morning and as I approached, there in the window were a host of goodies.

I felt this was no accident, so I prayed ... "Lord, it's up to you, if you want me to have any of those delicious goodies, create a parking place for me directly in front of the bakery."

And sure enough, on the eighth time around the block, there it was!

God is so Good!"


Of course, none of us would ever do anything like this!!

But nonetheless, I can't help but draw a lesson from it.

There’s a difference between waiting for something to happen materially that you want to happen, and waiting on God to reveal a progressive step to take.

The above is humorous because the dieter did not consult God first. He outlined what he wanted to happen and then kept driving around the block until it happened.

Sometimes this method of human willing an outcome works, but other times it doesn’t.

It reminded of times when I’ve come up with my own idea to write an article or talk, and I write and write to finish the task, and the piece doesn’t come together. Blinded by human will, I’ve often “driven around the block again and again,” only to no avail. Finally, frustrated to no end, I’ve had to stop and accept that my original idea wasn’t as inspired as I thought it was, and that I needed to listen to God better and start over with an idea that is truly inspired. When I’ve done this, the piece will come together and usually with ease and grace.

It can be tough at times to sort out what God wants us to do, and what selfish desire wants to do, but with practice, and trial and error, we learn to wait on God first, listen to the divine plan, and then act. The parking space will open up in just the right place for us then, and we won’t have to waste a lot of expensive gas in mindless runs around the proverbial block!

God so loved the world

I’ve often puzzled over the meaning of this Bible verse:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

I believe a common interpretation of this verse is that God so loved the material world and mortals within it, that he sacrificed his only son, Jesus, on the cross, to show us how much He loved us, and made this sacrificial offering of Jesus to save all those who believed on the risen Savior.

I’ve struggled with this interpretation because my concept of God is one of a loving Father-Mother, and a loving Father-Mother does not sacrifice His son to pain and suffering.

Christian Science explains that it was the human material concept of Christ called Jesus that suffered on the cross. It was not the Son of God that suffered. The Son of God was the Christ that Jesus reflected in his healing ministry. The Son of God was not a physical body that suffered at the hands of mortal tyrants and terrorists. The Christ is spiritual, immortal, and divine, forever living in Mind, not in matter. And we find our spiritual selfhood in Christ too.

So, in trying to understand the original spiritual meaning of the above verse, I came up with:

“God’s love is revealed in His Son, the Christ, in which we find eternal Life.”

I’m still thinking on this verse, but feel I'm getting closer to the original spiritual meaning before it was translated.

God has given us His Son, the true idea of Himself, which serves as the example of who we are in His image and likeness. (Please excuse using the male gender here, for the word Her works just as well.) And we have Christ, or God’s direction and guidance at work in our lives, to lead us to eternal life.

Christ never died, and is never at the mercy of hate, evil or death. This is the example Jesus’ resurrection left for us to learn from, and we can faithfully follow.

“The invisible Christ was imperceptible to the so-called personal senses, whereas Jesus appeared as a bodily existence. This dual personality of the unseen and the seen, the spiritual and material, the eternal Christ and the corporeal Jesus manifest in flesh, continued until the Master's ascension, when the human, material concept, or Jesus, disappeared, while the spiritual self, or Christ, continues to exist in the eternal order of divine Science, taking away the sins of the world, as the Christ has always done, even before the human Jesus was incarnate to mortal eyes.” Mary Baker Eddy

Is life without matter conceivable?

I’ve witnessed students of Christian Science wrestle with the unreality of matter, wondering how life could be possible without the atomic stuff. They try to envision existence without things, without cars, without physical bodies, without houses, and wonder, “What’s left?”

When one believes matter is the substance of the universe and reasons out from an atomic premise, the above type of logic does leave mind in a void of nothingness.

I can sympathize with the emptiness one must feel with that type of conclusion.

But there’s another way to reason the query out and come up with a more inspired answer.

I encourage inquirers to tackle the issue from the opposite point of view.

Instead of voiding human existence of what you call matter and then pondering about what’s left from a mortal point of view, void matter of all the qualities of Spirit, like love, joy, hope and intelligence, and ponder what remains.

Take away all the kindness, the compassion, tenderness, happiness, inspiration, purpose, ability to think, reason and act, which are all faculties of divine Mind and not faculties of matter, and what is left of matter?

Life without qualities of Spirit is as nothing.

And that’s exactly what matter is—nothing!

Christian Science explains that all the joy, goodness, health and harmony one experiences don’t originate in matter or in material sensation. They originate in Mind and are expressed through us spiritually.

For example, a joyful thought may be expressed as a happy smile, but the happiness is not in the lips that contour to a smile. The happiness is a spiritual inspiration coming from God, the divine Mind. The inspiration entertained formed a smile on the face, but the substance of the smile is in the thought, not in the flesh of the lips.

Some would argue that the brain is mind and the source of these inspirations, but that is a long subject for another blog. The brain has no more intelligence than a computer, a machine with artificial intelligence. What came first, Mind or brain? Mind came first and remains primal. Brain is a human temporal concept of mind, but never will be Mind.

But aside from that discussion, life without matter is very easy to envision when one accepts Spirit as Life.

The limited human perspective grasps this only in degrees, but, nonetheless, it is true. All the good in our life is not matter in action, but Spirit in action. We are an image of Mind.

Happiness, intelligence, and joy expressed are Mind in action through us. Mortal mind calls it matter-action, but in Truth, it’s Mind-action.

Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science, made this illuminating observation about how Jesus Christ viewed matter. After being asked the question “If God does not recognize matter, how did Jesus, who was “the way, the truth, and the life,” cognize it?”

She replied in part,

Christ Jesus' sense of matter was the opposite of that which mortals entertain…His earthly mission was to translate substance into its original meaning, Mind. He walked upon the waves; he turned the water into wine; he healed the sick and the sinner; he raised the dead, and rolled away the stone from the door of his own tomb. His demonstration of Spirit virtually vanquished matter and its supposed laws. Walking the wave, he proved the fallacy of the theory that matter is substance; healing through Mind, he removed any supposition that matter is intelligent, or can recognize or express pain and pleasure. His triumph over the grave was an everlasting victory for Life; it demonstrated the lifelessness of matter, and the power and permanence of Spirit. He met and conquered the resistance of the world.
If you will admit, with me, that matter is neither substance, intelligence, nor Life, you may have all that is left of it; and you will have touched the hem of the garment of Jesus' idea of matter…. Miscellaneous Writings, p. 74.

Amen! Strip away substance, intelligence and life from matter, and what’s left? Nothing! And that’s what matter is—nothing!

To understand life we have to understand Spirit. Spirit is what moves us, inspires us, strengthens us, and empowers us aright. Spirit is the power at work in life, and from a spiritual point of view, it’s hard to envision existence any other way.

Always an open door

“When one door closes another door opens, but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.”

~ Alexander Graham Bell

What is God's provision for you?

I’ve often heard testifiers at church meetings say something like, “I prayed for a new job. The perfect job appeared. I’m so grateful for God’s provision!”

As a general statement of truth, all good originates in God and comes from a spiritual source. But the above type of declaration has sometimes caused confusion for some people trying to understand how God meets human needs.

At surface appraisal, it appears to support the commonly held belief that material situations, things, and conditions are how God provides. After all, Jesus did heal sick bodies, strengthen weak limbs, and feed hungry mouths.

But Jesus also rebuked those who sought him for the fishes and the loaves—those who sought him for material indulgence.

He said, after trying to get away from a mob of people he had just fed,

“I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw [understood] the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you…”

I sense that Jesus did not want people seeking him for material gratification. He wanted them to understand the spiritual truth he was teaching. He knew that spiritual truth understood and practiced led the way to eternal life where matter was no longer a factor. It did not lead to increased consumption of food, things, or worldly position.

As I think about how God provides, I remember that God is Spirit. God is not matter. Spirit is going to provide in only the way Spirit can provide—spiritually. So it stands to reason that God meets human needs through spiritual ways and means, which, as it turns out in practical experience, translates into daily supplies.

Years ago, when my wife and I designed and built a home for our family, we worked for many months on the plans. We’d come up with a drawing we liked and proclaim, “This is the perfect house for us!” Days later, after more prayer and consideration, we’d come up with a better plan and declare, “This is the perfect house for us!” More time would pass, new ideas would surface, a new plan would be drawn, and then, again we’d affirm, “THIS is the perfect house!” Well, I imagine you get the picture by now, that there is no such thing as a perfect material house. As new inspiration dawns, human plans change. The only perfect house anyone will ever have is the home God has built for us in heaven, in Mind. Until then, we catch improved glimpses of what the “perfect home” is like, and improve our human plans accordingly.

A lesson I gain from the above is that until the final spiritual idea we’re striving to demonstrate is in clear vivid view, the human interpretation is going to constantly revise and change. We may interpret a new view of spiritual reality as the “perfect job,” or “the perfect home” or the “ideal setting” at any given point in time. But it’s only a glimpse. It looks perfect at the moment because that’s as far as our understanding has grown. But increase your spiritual understanding of God, and the original divine idea is going to getter clearer in thought. What appeared to be ideal in the past is no longer ideal. You see something better appearing.

This is helpful to understand when faced with loss.

People have often seen something good happen in their lives as evidence of God’s love at work—and rightfully so. But they make the mistake of believing the good is IN the material thing, position or setting they’ve acquired. So, if someday that thing is lost, they feel deprived, lacking, and maybe even punished. It’s not that God’s good has failed them. God’s good never fails. It’s because they thought their good was material rather than spiritual, and matter always fails eventually! That’s a given!!

A lesson here is, never put your trust in matter if you don’t want to be overwrought with a feeling of loss someday. All good is spiritual, coming from Spirit, and forever intact in Mind.

But aside from that, if something we identified as good is lost, it’s simply a demand to go up higher in understanding to the real substance of that good.

I’ve heard of businessmen who became very wealthy, lost everything in catastrophic economic conditions, and gained it all back. I believe this happens because they knew that their wealth was not in money. It was in the wisdom, understanding and intelligence they possessed, and, which I believe, comes from above.

God’s provision is spiritual. When material conditions change, spiritual truth never changes. Our source is always God, the all-knowing, all-providing Mind that is ever caring for its beloved creation.

You will not fear loss when you understand all supply to be spiritual. With an understanding of spiritual substance, we see that there is no loss in matter for there is no gain there to begin with. All is Spirit, and everything and anything worth having is spiritual.

God’s provision for us is always spiritual.

"The depth, breadth, height, might, majesty, and glory of infinite Love fill all space. That is enough!" Mary Baker Eddy

The power of forgiveness

I was reminded today of a story that illustrates one of the most powerful ways to conquer one’s enemies. Love the hate right out of them...

This is a true account.

A woman sat silently in the courtroom until the verdict, three years in prison, was reached for the 14 year gangster who had murdered her son. After the sentencing, she stood up and vowed to the teenager, “I’m going to kill you.”

After 6 months in prison, the mother began to visit the boy. She was his first and only visitor. She came more often, bringing food and gifts.

On the day he was released, the mother asked him what he would be doing when he got out. The boy had no place to go. She offered him a job and a room in her home. He accepted.

After 8 months of living with her, eating her food and going to his job, the mother called him into a room to talk. She asked him if he remembered her threat to kill him. He nodded his head.

She went on to explain that she had accomplished her goal.

She said that at the end of the trial she vowed that the boy who had killed her son would not remain alive on this earth any longer. So she started to visit him and befriend him. She wanted the old gangster to die. Now, after many months, she figured she had reached her goal. Love had transformed the lad. He was a new man.

Then she asked to adopt him. And he accepted.

She became the mother he never had.

The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace, by Jack Kornfield.

Treatment versus prayer

I’ve often been asked, “What is the difference between giving a Christian Science treatment and prayer?”

On one hand, there is no difference for a treatment is a prayer for healing. But, on the other, there is a distinction to be made because treatment is metaphysically designed to specifically change a person’s thought about something. It's not just a general affirmation of Truth.

For example, if a person believes they have a cold, a requested CS treatment would focus on dissolving that person’s cold-belief with the truth that they are healthy and well as God’s beloved. The treatment would specifically refute the sufferer’s false beliefs with spiritual truth to the negation of those erroneous beliefs, and the treatment would continue until health was manifest and the cold had disappeared.

As a general rule, treatment is given for oneself or for one who has requested it. It would not be in accord with the Golden Rule to give CS treatment to someone who did not ask for it or did not want it. Treatment is powerful and changes the mental landscape it addresses. Any person feeling the effect of treatment should know why the changes they are experiencing are taking place.

Then the question arises, “If someone is suffering, and they don’t want me to give them CS treatment, how should I think about them? Shouldn’t I treat the belief that they are sufferers? Shouldn’t I pray to know the truth about them anyway?”

And the answer is yes. We should know the truth about them. We should know the spiritual truth about everyone we meet. But knowing the truth about them is not the same thing as giving them treatment.

It’s like the difference between a lantern shining brightly and a spotlight focused on a specific target. Prayer is the lantern approach to solving problems. Treatment is the spotlight approach.

A lantern lets its light shine, and any passerby is welcome to bathe in the light or not. It’s their choice. A spotlight is a powerful concentrated beam that takes over the isolated space it shines on. Standing in a spotlight is a much different kind of experience then passing by a lantern.

So, when someone asks for treatment, turn on the spotlight of truth for their benefit and assiduously work for healing.


If a sufferer does not ask for help and you need to know the spiritual truth about them anyway, hold to the spiritual truth about them as God’s child and let that understanding of Truth glow like a lantern. They may or may not notice. But at the very least, you have taken the morally and spiritually right step.

Shine away!

Never alone

Here’s a touching story sent in be a reader that reminds us of our constant companion:


Indian Fatherhood

Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth's rite of passage?

His dad takes him into the forest - blindfolded - and leaves him.

He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not take off the blindfold until the rays of the sun shine through it. He is all by himself. He cannot cry out for help to anyone.

Once he survives the night he is a MAN. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience. Each lad must come into his own manhood.

During the night, the boy was terrified. He could hear all kinds of noise. Beasts were all around him. Maybe even some human would hurt him. The wind blew the grass and it shook his stump.

But he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It was the only way he could become a man.

Finally, after a horrific night, the sound of the night disappeared. He could feel the warmth of the sun. He removed his blindfold.

It was then that he saw his father, sitting on the stump next to him, on watch the entire night.

We are never alone. Even when we don’t know it, our Father is protecting us. He is sitting on the stump beside us.

All we have to do is take off our blindfolds.

An answered prayer

The following is a story from a President Ballantyne who told of a special Christmas season from his boyhood days. Ballantyne grew up in Star Valley, Wyoming, which is harsh country. The summers are short and fleeting, while the winters linger and chill.

Father had a large family; and sometimes after we had our harvest, there was not much left after expenses were paid. So Father would have to go away and hire out to some of the big ranchers for maybe a dollar a day. He earned little more than enough to take care of himself, with very little to send home to Mother and the children. Things began to get pretty skimpy for us.

We had our family prayers around the table; and it was on one such night when Father was gone that we gathered and Mother poured out of a pitcher, into the glass of each one, milk divided among the children—but none for herself. And I, sensing that the milk in the pitcher was all that we had, pushed mine over to Mother and said, "Here, Mother. You drink mine."

“No, Mother is not hungry tonight.”

It worried me. We drank our milk and went to bed, but I could not sleep. I got up and tiptoed down the stairs, and there was Mother, in the middle of the floor, kneeling in prayer. She did not hear me as I came down in my bare feet, and I dropped to my knees and heard her say, “Heavenly Father, there is no food in our house. Please, Father, touch the heart of somebody so that my children will not be hungry in the morning.”

When she finished her prayer, she looked around and saw that I had heard; and she said to me, somewhat embarrassed, “Now, you run along, son. Everything will be all right.”

I went to bed, assured by Mother’s faith. The next morning, I was awakened by the sounds of pots and pans in the kitchen and the aroma of cooking food. I went down to the kitchen, and I said, “Mother, I thought you said there was no food.”

All she said to me was, “Well, my boy, didn’t you think the Lord would answer my prayer?” I received no further explanation than that.

Years passed, and I went away to college. I got married, and I returned to see the old folks. Bishop Gardner, now reaching up to a ripe age, said to me, “My son, let me tell you of a Christmas experience that I had with your family. I had finished my chores, and we had had supper. I was sitting by the fireplace reading the newspaper. Suddenly, I heard a voice that said, “Sister Ballantyne doesn’t have any food in her house.” I thought it was my wife speaking and said, “What did you say, Mother?” She came in wiping her hands on her apron and said, “Did you call me, Father?”

“No, I didn’t say anything to you, but I heard a voice which spoke to me.”

“What did it say?” she asked.

“It said that Sister Ballantyne didn’t have any food in her house.”

“Well, then,” said Mother, “you had better put on your shoes and your coat and take some food to Sister Ballantyne.”

In the dark of that winter’s night, I harnessed the team and placed in the wagon bed a sack of flour, a quarter section of beef, some bottled fruit, and loaves of newly baked bread. The weather was cold, but a warm glow filled my soul as your mother welcomed me and I presented her with the food. God had heard a mother’s prayer.

Ship unsinkable

All the water in the world

No matter how it tried

Could never sink the smallest ship

Unless it got inside.

All the evil of the world

And every kind of sin

Could never damn a human soul

Unless we let it in.

~ Author unknown

Caring for others

“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged,
sympathetic with the striving
and tolerant of the weak and strong.
Because someday in life you will have been all of these.”

~ George Washington Carver

Seeking divine justice

An inquirer was quizzing me about how Christian Scientists view the awful atrocities that occur in history over time. For instance, the millions Stalin murdered, or Hitler incinerated, or that civil war ravages in the heart of Africa.

I said that the material world can be a very evil place with gross injustices obtruded upon people. But I expect these evils to lessen over the centuries as humanity learns to love each other more.

My friend then wondered what kind of hope existed for the millions of people caught in the web of vicious hatred, greed, lust, and pursuit of power by evil minded rulers in the meantime.

I offered the model and life of Jesus Christ, as an example of the ultimate solution.

Jesus taught us to seek spiritual justice above all forms of human justice.

He suffered immensely at the hands of evil rulers. But his response was not political, legal, civil, economic or social. He appealed to the highest judge of all, God, for help, and walked away a survivor from the treacherous and murderous attacks he faced. He sought and found the ultimate justice of all—life in Spirit.

Any innocent victim of evil circumstances has a spiritual justice to protect them too that inevitably lifts them above the reach of their enemies. It takes humility to do this, because the initial desire of many is often to attack fire with fire. But the eye for an eye approach usually worsens suffering. It's Love that dissolves hatred and Truth that triumphs over error with finality.

I remember a time when my dad had to appeal to divine justice to be spared from an evil situation on his farm.

He had developed a piece of dry-land into an irrigated farm in a new area that still had many dry-land farmers in surrounding territory. The agricultural practices of dry-land farmers can vary significantly from the practices of irrigated crop farmers.

After one year of successful farming, all his crops started to die. After intense research and inspection, it was determined that herbicide sprayed from neighboring farmers’ airplanes was drifting, often up to 15 miles, onto dad’s crops and killing them.

After lengthy discussion and debate, it was clear that no neighboring farmer was going to change their practices. There were laws against such practices, but enforcing the law was extremely difficult.

Dad decided he didn’t want to get embroiled into years of lawsuits that may prove futile and would definitely rack up huge lawyer bills.

He sought divine justice.

In divine justice, your help does not come from the legal system, from other people, or from anywhere in the world. It comes directly from God and in the form of inspiration, courage, confidence, trust and faith that all is well under the divine government. One’s goal is not to ignore the evil, but see through it, to the spiritual reality that perseveres forever.

In spiritual reality, dad could not have his good taken from him. True supply is spiritual coming from above, not from the earth, or from crops, nor could supply be taken from him by destructive habits of his neighbors.

He found his peace in spiritual truth.

Out of nowhere, a real estate agent appeared on the farm one day and asked dad if he’d ever considered planting apple trees on his land. He said no. She went on to explain how ideal his property was for fruit, and even offered to buy some of the acreage to plant her own orchard. Her offer was enough to get him out of crippling debt and save his operation.

The genius of planting apples was that apple trees were totally immune to all the pesticides drifting onto dad’s ranch.

Dad sold some land to the realtor, planted apple trees of his own, and in about three years, turned a dire situation around into a very prosperous farming operation. Since then stricter laws for spraying pesticides have been enforced and better practices adopted by neighboring farmers.

This story is not salve for innocents killed at the hands of murderous tyrants, but it does highlight how appealing to divine justice can be more effective than seeking human justice.

Eternal life in Spirit and supply from Mind is guaranteed to each child of God. No amount of evil in this world can deprive us of our gifts from above that are eternally ours.

We don’t always find justice here on earth for the evils we face, but spiritual foresight and understanding assures us that our divine reward is assured and gives us the confidence and hope we need to press on despite the difficulties we encounter. Our spiritual reward for patience and forgiveness is guaranteed.

Back to my opening remarks, because hatred in the world is often of gigantic proportions, a huge amount of love is needed to counteract it and prevent atrocities from happening in the first place. I feel certain this justice will be worked out over the centuries as the Christ takes greater hold in thought around the world and makes people more loving. Eventually the populace will be strong enough in Love that no evil ruler can get into office and rule arbitrarily over innocents.

I expect each of us is praying for that day to appear sooner rather than later!

Looking through a straw

The statement that “Spirit is real and matter is unreal” is a concept that sometimes causes consternation amongst seekers striving to understand Christian Science.

I find it easy to accept the unreality of matter. For me, if something is truly real, it lasts forever. If it can be destroyed it can’t be real because there’s a point when it does not exist. It has no reality. So, truly, how could it ever be real? You can’t count on it in the long run. And eternal life is about the “long run.”

I’ve often defined matter—or a material sense of the universe—as a very limited view of the spiritual universe God created. And today, I heard an enlightening example of how to better illuminate this concept.

A friend who was grappling with the unreality of matter explained it this way. He decided that matter, or a material sense of things, was a limited view of Spirit, like looking through a straw allows one only a very limited view of his surroundings.

For instance, if you looked through a straw at a dance troupe performing, you might see only swirling hems and heels kicking, and basically disorder and perhaps chaos. The view would be so small, that you would have no grasp of the larger production being danced out. And you might conclude that what you were looking at was nonsensical and disorganized. But pull the straw away from your eye, and, wallah! the scene is beautiful, sensible and masterfully choreographed.

Likewise, as we look through the lens of Spirit, we see a masterfully crafted spiritual universe where divine Principle is in control. But when we look through the cloudy and narrow lens of material sense, we often see chaos, disorder and disease, adopt it as real, and resign ourselves to it.

I am so grateful that Christian Science prevents the latter from happening.

Christian Science opens our eyes to spiritual reality. It teaches the allness of Mind and the nothingness of matter. It takes the straw of limited mortal reasoning away from our mental eyes, and reveals the infinite scene of Mind where there are no limits or boundaries, or diesease—and the picture is grand.

Spirit is real. Matter is not real. With increased spiritual growth over time, more and more people will understand this to be true. Physics is already drawing nearer to the conclusion that there is no matter.

The visible universe and material man are the poor counterfeits of the invisible universe and spiritual man. Eternal things (verities) are God’s thoughts as they exist in the spiritual realm of the real. Temporal things are the thoughts of mortals and are the unreal, being the opposite of the real or the spiritual and eternal. Mary Baker Eddy

No lost little ones

Monica from Atlanta sent in the below experience her family had on the 4th of July. It reminds me to never give up when searching for solutions, because God always has an answer—even very unique ones at times!


We were preparing to go see fireworks.

My daughter had foolishly put her three guinea pigs out into the front yard to graze without the enclosure. We found her frantically searching for Peanut, the baby piggy. The entire family spent a good hour scouring the yard and listening to her squeak, but to no avail. I knew she needed to be found to survive, but it seemed impossible to find her!

We had looked everywhere.

I saw myself in Peanut's helpless situation and wondered how God could possibly bring about a solution, even as I clung to the thought of God's perfect creation, never out of his care. I knew my husband, son and daughters were all praying for a miracle.

Then an odd thought came to me to ask Strider, our German shepherd, for help. He had always been so tender with the piggies, guarding them and even barring his teeth at our other dogs when they got too near and rambunctious around them.

So I got out Peanut's hutch and called Strider. He took in the scent deeply, and I said "Find Peanut!"

Strider's nose went to the ground. In a few minutes I saw him pawing and sniffing in the low prickly brush where we had previously searched but found nothing. We all gathered to look, and hidden deep inside the prickles and dirt and dead leaves was Peanut! We never would have found her without Strider's help. How grateful we were, and amazed even more!

Strider acted like it was no big deal and looked puzzled at what all the fuss was about. It sure gave me hope, that there is a human solution in God's design, even when it seems impossible to mortal view.

Strider and Peanut

Looking for an exit door?

A woman commented to me recently that her business was locked into a debt repayment schedule that had no exit door for her company in the event income temporarily dwindled and a payment was missed or late. She feared losing her whole company to creditors.

The words “no exit door,” caught my attention. In my understanding of God’s infinite possibilities for progress and healing, I know there is no such thing as having no exit door to freedom. There is always an exit door, and it’s labeled, “God.”

But I pondered how often people do feel locked up in what they perceive to be impossible and hopeless situations.

The prison they fear could be delinquent mortgage payments threatening the loss of their home, a disease, or hate harming a precious relationship. From a material point of view, prison walls seem to appear all around in the human experience.

But we are never locked into a state of hopelessness, for we are not limited material people. We are unlimited spiritual children of God! There is always a way out, a spiritual way out of the trouble we dread.

This is an extreme example, but I’m sure Jesus felt locked into a very unfair circumstance when facing impending crucifixion. From a human point of view, his future looked extremely dismal. A court trial set, unfair judges, rulers bent on destroying him, a cross, death, a tomb…how much worse could it get?

He prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” Jesus felt locked into a very evil situation, and he was looking for an exit door. But he also knew better than to doubt God’s omnipresent and all-wise care. He continued to pray, “Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” During his prayer, he let go of his fear of death, and settled into a consciousness of eternal Life, and this transition in thought proved to be his exit door.

He realized to a greater degree that he lived in God, Spirit, and not in matter, and therefore had nothing to fear. His substance was spiritual, his self was spiritual, and his life-work was spiritual. None of his good could be lost, for it was indestructible, in Spirit.

His trust was soon vindicated when he walked out of the tomb alive triumphant over his enemies’ attack.

We too have our exit door to walk through when feeling imprisoned. It’s never a debt, a boss, a spouse, a job, or a disease that imprisons us. The prison is never material. It’s fear of matter or material circumstances.

We break the fear by knowing we belong to God, and not to evil, by understanding that we are spiritual beings reflecting the infinite possibilities of Life. There are no limits on our Life in Spirit.

Life in Spirit is our exit door from any matter-prison that mortal mind wants to build around our sense of possibility.

We are not material. Our supply is not material. Our health is not material. Our love is not material, and therefore never at the mercy of material circumstance. We are spiritual, and everything about us that is important and significant is spiritual too.

Living in Spirit is our wide-open exit door to any freedom we yearn for. Feel free to walk through it today!

Joy,

Making sense out of a mess

Have you ever felt like your life was a mess? Like the pieces were not fitting together, and you had little or no evidence of completeness to show for your efforts? What’s the point of continuing? You might begin to wonder.

As I watched a paintjam video on youtube that a friend forwarded, I thought about how different experiences we have in life look messy and unorganized at the time we’re in them. But, in time, we see a reason for their happening. That a larger picture was being worked out that eventually became apparent. And then it all made sense.

Take a look yourself. You have to watch the whole video, 5:40 minutes long, to reap the reward.

Turn up the volume. It’s a fun watch!

Always enough in Spirit

Many patients who come into my practice are struggling with beliefs of lack. They fear lack of health, lack of funds, lack of love, lack of understanding or some other form of deprivation. This fear of lack is rooted in the belief that their supply is matter-based—some worldly contrivance or arrangement that they’ve been taught they need to survive.

To break this mesmeric and hurtful hold on thought, I strive to help them see their supply is coming from Spirit. That they do not lack at all if they look for their supply, or help, in the right form and in a spiritual place.

The effort to find abundance in matter—in things, in money, in the body, in self, in drugs, and in time—is what leaves one feeling empty handed. But to dig deeper into Truth, and discover the infinite riches of Spirit, taps into the wellspring of Life that truly satisfies and blesses.

The following story of “The Aquifer” illustrates how a matter-sense-based life can turn in upon us and make prospects for health and happiness pale, shrivel up and poof away when we don’t look beyond the obvious.

The Aquifer

Once there was a group of people who lived in a dry desert land. Life was challenging for these people. There was little food or water; in fact, the community only survived by clustering around a stream that ran though the land. Although it was meager, the stream offered fresh water to drink and irrigate a few crops. The people who lived by the stream managed to survive.

However, one year the stream began to run weaker than it had before. The following year, the water levels dropped even further. The people began to panic – after all, this was their only source of sustenance.

One evening, an argument broke out as one person accused his neighbor of siphoning off extra water. A few weeks later, there was another argument. The people began to live in fear of one another. Was that person stealing extra water? Did those people think that we were stealing? The sense of suspicion grew as the water continued to drop.

The community experienced great strain; neighbors eyed each other warily. When people drew drinking water from the stream, they did so surreptitiously. The townspeople barely spoke to each other, worried about sparking a conflict.

Finally, the stream dropped to a trickle. There was no longer enough water to sustain the community. A few people became belligerent, and accused others of causing the water to drop. Hostilities flared. Someone was injured in a conflict; this sparked a violent retribution. Soon thereafter, the community collapsed and disappeared.

Many years later, a new group of people stumbled upon the site of the old town.

"Curious," one of them said, looking at the remains of buildings. "I wonder why these people left."

"Look," said another, "there's no well anywhere. Perhaps these people never realized they were sitting over an aquifer. All they had to do was dig ten feet down, and they could have found enough water to last for lifetimes. It looks like they never realized how much they had."

The “dry desert land” in this story is mortality.

The land of mortality is always lacking and will always be depraved and desolate in some way. When we believe we are material and that we live in this land and must rely upon its meager resources, we might become suspicious of our neighbor, become self-protective, and self-defensive. We fear lack, and eventually see lack. To preserve our existence, we compete with our neighbor for resources, and that leads to potential conflict. It seems, there is never enough, and we fight over what little remains until nothing is left for anyone.

Have you ever seen this scenario played out in a marriage, at the office, between children, amongst countries?

The cure is to dig deeper into the well-spring of Spirit. Spirit is the aquifer that never dries up and never leaves us wanting.

Spirit is Love, and Love is infinite.

To reach into the well of Love is to rely upon a fountain that never fails and always has enough for everyone. Drawing upon Love for supply wipes out fear and suspicion. We are no longer fighting over limited material resources and time. We’re abounding in joy, gratitude, forgiveness, compassion and love—all riches of God that multiply in our experience the more we use them.

Christian Science gives us the tools we need to dig deeper into the aquifer of Spirit. Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science, wrote,

The nature of Christianity is peaceful and blessed, but in order to enter into the kingdom, the anchor of hope must be cast beyond the veil of matter into the Shekinah into which Jesus has passed before us; and this advance beyond matter must come through the joys and triumphs of the righteous as well as through their sorrows and afflictions. Like our Master, we must depart from material sense into the spiritual sense of being.

So, if you’re fighting with someone today, remember the parable of the aquifer. Ask yourself some probing questions, like, why are you fighting? Is it worth it? Is the conflict necessary? Or are you looking beyond the material sense of things and seeing the unlimited possibilities of Love that can bless everyone? Are you willing to forgive? Are you willing to give up a puny concept of Love and immerse thought in the unbounded ocean of Love where there is enough benefit to go around for everyone?

The same rule applies to health. What are you fighting over? Is it a material limited concept of health in the body that you fear losing? Are you willing to see beyond the body, beyond physicality, beyond matter, to the health of Mind which never fails or disappears? If so, the freedom you desire is yours to find. Divine Mind possesses it—and it’s found in the deep aquifer of eternal Life.