Recently a friend asked me to help him find another person in a crowded room. I told him where the person was, describing her location in the room in relation to chairs, doors, and other people nearby. Yet he couldn't locate her. So I told him she was wearing a flowered dress. But he still wasn't looking in the right direction. So I took my friend by the hand and brought him to the woman.
Thinking about this, I noticed some similarities to experiences I've had in sharing with someone a copy of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. My first effort to share with a neighbor was not well received, and I wondered why. Another experience I had sharing the textbook gave me some insight. This time I was in a different locale, and I had become dissatisfied with my surroundings and felt the need to pray about the neighborhood. Through this prayer I realized my neighbors and I were all actually loved ideas of God, led by Him, and that His ideas can only bless one another. My neighbors were the children of God with whom I had in common one source, the Life that is God, good.
The next day a neighbor, who was interested in Christian Science but who had indicated she disagreed strongly with one aspect of our Church, came to visit me. We had been feeling a bit awkward with one another; however, that day we had a warm, friendly visit. Shortly before she left, she mentioned that she was grateful for Christian Scientists in the community who were willing to help others through prayer. Later I gave her a copy of Science and Health as a gift, along with a toy for her newborn baby. She was glad to have the book and told me that her husband was going to read it too. He liked the idea of religion and science coming together.
