I seemed to have a lot of things on my plate—and all of them exhilarating. I was about to start rehearsals for a show I had been given a part in. I was very eager to do this, as I had done a lot of praying to know that this really was God's idea and therefore a perfect one. On top of this, a few days before rehearsals started, my parents bought a pizza take-away shop. I had previously worked in the shop, so I felt responsible for helping my parents through their first week, although they didn't expect this of me. By the day before the first rehearsal for the show, I was feeling really exhausted and stressed, and I had a splitting headache.
As I had the rehearsal the next day, I decided to "rest." So, feeling sorry for myself, I went to bed. Later in the day, I realized that this was ridiculous—I was waiting to get better. This was a total contradiction of what I had been learning all my life in the Christian Science Sunday School and in my own study of the Bible and Mrs. Eddy's writings. God made man in His likeness, not lacking anything or waiting for anything; the man God made is already complete. So I got out the Weekly Bible Lesson (found in the Christian Science Quarterly) and started reading. It was exactly what I needed, and included the statement "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isa. 40:31). Although I still felt as if I was suffering, I was able to shake off my inertia and get out of bed. I got up in time to go to the Wednesday testimony meeting.
After the meeting I picked up the latest copy of the Journal. I was immediately confronted by an article that showed me how I could challenge pain. I learned that accepting that I was suffering from a headache was, in one sense, breaking the First Commandment, because it was accepting another "god"—namely pain. I could see how utterly ridiculous this was, and I prayed to understand that there is only one God and one perfect creation—man and the universe. I prayed to know that I couldn't, not even for a single second, be separated from God's love and care— that I was, am, and ever will be reflecting Him. I went to sleep that night holding on to these thoughts; and every time I thought about the pain, I tried to understand it for what it really is—nothing.
