A FEW YEARS AGO, I was in a relationship with a man whom I adored. After a few months of dating, we quickly moved in together. We loved being together and naturally supported one another's beliefs. This was a great comfort to me. Even though I was raised in Christian Science, which held a very dear place in my heart, I decided to take classes in my partner's religion to learn more about his faith. These religion classes promised increased personal ability while becoming more in tune with my spiritual self.
At first, the promises I learned in these religious classes were quite convincing to me, but the more that I dove into the study of this particular religion, and became a perceptive and controlled human being by their standards, the more my intuition encouraged me to surrender to God's control. Christian Science taught me that "Spirit imparts the understanding which uplifts consciousness and leads into all truth" (Science and Health, p. 505). I understood this to mean that I was constantly reflecting God and His understanding. This gentle thought was a reminder that my stable intelligence and perceptivity could only originate from God. This thought continued to resonate with me as I continued my relationship with this man.
After about a year, our relationship started to become unstable. My boyfriend started receiving calls from women whom I did not know, and he would often get home much later from his scheduled dance practices. Additionally, he became more restrictive with my use of his laptop computer, which we used to share freely. I began to grow suspicious of my boyfriend's behavior. I even asked him about these changes, but every time I did, he always said the right thing to ease my concerns. Nonetheless, I glimpsed a false intent in my partner being in a relationship with me. Mrs. Eddy offers this insight into the opposite of erring human intention: "The heavenly intent of earth's shadows is to chasten the affections, to rebuke human consciousness and turn it gladly from a material, false sense of life and happiness, to spiritual joy and true estimate of being" (Retrospection and Introspection, p. 21).
