Spiritual Short

The story of Solomon praying to God for wisdom and an understanding heart to rule his people (see I Kings 3:5–15 ) begins with his being asleep and having a dream in the night, where God comes to him, answers his prayer for wisdom, and also gives him what he didn’t even ask for—riches and honor. It says that Solomon awoke and “behold, it was a dream.

The four young swimmers were excitedly diving into the water at the local gravel pit and coming up with a variety of colorful, beautiful rocks they had found at the bottom. One young boy swam over to me and asked breathlessly, “Do you want me to find you some diamonds?”   To see the enthusiasm of these innocent amateur geologists made my heart sing.

In my practice of Christian Science, I have found that divine law has been a bulwark to my spiritual progress. The very nature of this law is its universality, impartiality, and immutability.

When we were in Belize this past spring, my family and I went tubing in some caves. We went deep into those caves, floating on inner tubes, clambering over rocks, edging along ledges with stalactites dripping.

Late one beautiful morning in Boston soon after Christmas, I paused for a moment to contemplate what I had been studying and turned to my window, scanning the horizon from my eighth-floor apartment. The view constantly changes.

In the Bible, the good Samaritan didn’t just come upon a stranger in need, pass him by, and continue on his way, as the priest and the Levite had done before him (see Luke 10:25–37 ). What an example he sets for each one of us today: He stopped to care for a man who was no doubt of another tribe or religion.

In the late 1800s, French impressionist painter Claude Monet painted his famous “Haystack” series, a collection of 25 paintings on this same subject. Monet was fascinated by how his vision of stacks of hay after harvest season changed minute by minute, season by season,  depending on time of day, weather, lighting, atmosphere, and perspective.

The bird of paradise bush in front of my home was blooming with the most incredible flowers, and I just had to stop and admire them. As I was looking closely at one of the flowers, I was thinking that it couldn’t be more perfect.