A winter's walk along Walden Pond where Henry David Thoreau once beat a determined retreat from civilization always offers food for thought. The most obvious observation is that his retreat wasn't all that far from civilization, and that fact is even more evident today. It was interesting, then, to note on a park department's sign instructions for what to do if one became lost in the surrounding woods with winter's night fast falling. Don't panic, they advised, but begin to make careful preparations until rescued. Part of the instructions was to gather six armloads of firewood and prepare to keep warm.
As close to neighboring and highly civilized Concord as Walden Pond is, being lost on a cold winter night still conjures up awfully strong images. Imagine how you'd come to value every precious stick of dry wood that you could find for that warming, life-saving fire. And even more, picture how you'd nurture and protect even the smallest and most delicate sparks and beginning flickers in bringing a fire to a full, self-sustaining stage in the midst of harsh winter winds.
There's a certain analogy in the careful nurturing of such sparks into full flame that accords with the skill or art of Christian healing. There is fuel that feeds the growth of faith and love in us. It's prayer compelling the spiritualization and Christianization of thought that neutralize sin and quiet the fear that largely causes disease. In Christian Science we come to understand slowly the power of thought united with divine Truth and Love. Such prayer lets go of material theories and beliefs that ascribe power to discord and hate and material virus. And we begin to discern spiritually the reality of man's true being as reflecting the goodness and eternal life of divinity. Unquestionably, this is powerful fuel for the spiritual hopes of men and women who sense the necessity for a better life and a better world.
