Some years ago I worked as a Christian Science nurse’s aid, first in England and later in my adopted country, Australia. During this time, I felt so inspired by the work of the Christian Science nurses who were my colleagues. I witnessed how daily, each Christian Science nurse is proving, to some degree, that they are masters over the illusions of material sense.
Where a mortal, finite, and suffering sense of life appears, Christian Science nurses exercise their spiritual discernment, holding their thought steadfastly to the true idea of man as God’s own perfect and beautiful image and likeness. This aspect of Christian Science nursing distinguishes it from the work of the Christian Science practitioner, who is employed by the patient to give divinely directed Christian Science prayerful treatment.
However low the patient’s spirits may appear to be, however critical the case, or whatever others’ views may be on the patient’s prospects, the Christian Science nurse steadfastly stands “porter at the door” (see Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 392) of his or her own thought, guarding against the temptation to believe that disease follows a particular pattern. In the sick room, the Christian Science nurse is a Christly expression of divine Life, Truth, and Love. And I’ve seen beautiful healings come as a result of this loving care.
