At a time when a Christian Scientist was praying for greater understanding of the true meaning of Christmas, she felt she must rise early one morning and walk in the garden. The Christmas season was near, and the scene was bleak. There had been storms of wind and rain, and everything was stripped bare. During the night there had been a severe frost, and the ground was iron-hard. The stars were just beginning to fade from the sky, and everything was still, covered with hoarfrost. Then she saw a wonderful thing. A bud had pushed its way through the resistant earth and was opening into a flower of dazzling whiteness. It was the Christmas rose.
There it stood, serenely unfolding, unsullied by the earth, undeterred by the dark and wintry scene, a symbol of purity and innocence. It seemed to shine in its meek triumph, and the Christian Scientist marveled at its strength. It brought her the inspiration she needed. It symbolized to her the meaning of Christmas, the glorious coming of the healing Christ to redeem all mankind. And as she thought of the birth and life of the great Exemplar, Christ Jesus, gratitude and love filled her heart, and she felt a deep desire to walk in his footsteps.
Then the student remembered how at a time when the human scene had indeed seemed dark and hopeless, the healing Christ had come to awaken her from sickness and utter despair. It came to her through the teachings of Christian Science. Just as the Christmas rose was shining in her bleak garden, the revelation of man's true selfhood, his holy innocence as the child of God, had shone through all the storms of mortal sense.
