I used to wonder why I had to struggle long and hard with some difficulties, while others would yield right away. Why didn't my faith in God and in the efficacy of spiritual healing rout one error just as well as another?
If you've ever done this kind of wondering, you may be interested in the result of my being led to combine ideas from three passages I had long been familiar with. The first was what Paul said about taking pleasure in infirmities: "I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." II Cor. 12:10. The second was something Mrs. Eddy said about Christ Jesus: "Jesus mapped out the path for others." Science and Health, p. 38. And the third was what Jesus himself said about those who believed on him: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." John 14:12.
All three came together for me one day when I was praying about a trouble I'd had so long that I was beginning to feel like a statistic. In fact it was that very word statistic that struck me as the reason why I was still having to pray so hard. This particular mental condition—extreme and disabling fear resulting from a violent physical attack—was indeed statistically attached to millions of victims of violence. I suddenly realized that the reason I still had it to deal with—that I had to see the nothingness of it and heal it—was not only to find my own spiritual way but also to help map out "the path for others." Think what it will mean, I said to myself, when you do find your way, make a good, clear "map" of your discovery—and then joyously share it with others!
