Wednesday evening. What better way to spend it than to attend the weekly testimony meeting in a Christian Science church? These meetings bring inspiration and enlightenment to thousands of Christian Scientists and visitors alike, resulting in healing of physical ailments, mending of broken relationships, and the overcoming of financial problems—all through uplifting thought to understand better God's unchangeable love for His children.
During many years, I have seen that these midweek meetings are a continual avenue for healing and regeneration. This saving power comes from God, through the prepared readings from the Christian Science textbooks—the Bible and Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy—as well as through testimonies of those in attendance. These meetings are a true inspiration when attended with a receptive, expectant thought and with a desire to express one's own gratitude for Christian Science and the power of God. However, in the early years of my study, I was not very aware of all this.
One time during those years, I asked a longtime Christian Scientist whom I greatly respected if it was OK to skip testimony meetings once in a while. Being engaged in various activities that were occasionally scheduled on Wednesday evenings, I was both surprised and pleased when I received an affirmative reply. But, with a twinkle in her eye, she hastily added, "If there is a good reason!" Afterward, the more I pondered this, the more I began to realize that the self-centered thinking behind the reasons I had been using— reasons like "I don't feel like going," "I don't feel like getting dressed," "I'm too busy," "I have something else to do tonight"— was exactly why I needed to go to church!
