Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to the growth of a mustard seed in the Gospel of Matthew. This illustration also seems an apt one for the unfoldment of one's public practice of Christian Science healing. Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: which indeed is the least of all seeds:but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." Matt. 13:31, 32.
For me, the desire to enter the full-time public healing ministry followed the realization of my inner desire to know God better and to serve Him in the minute details of my life. When the initial desire to sow "the mustard seed" of a public healing practice was taking shape, however, I tried to force its growth. I was interfering with the natural, progressive growth of the seed, rather than consistently and faithfully watering and fertilizing its roots.
This is not to say that the unfoldment of one's public healing ministry cannot happen quickly. It can. But in my case, patience with my progress and the willingness to cultivate a solid, consistent, spiritual basis for thinking and acting were needed, even while I nurtured the full potential of serving as a Christian Science practitioner.
