WHEN ONE OF OUR DAUGHTERS was in fourth grade, she had a severe skin condition covering most of her body. She was unable to attend school for a couple of weeks, but since our family had always relied on Christian Science healing, I was confident we could do so now—since she was cheerful, alert, and ready to see God's love for her.
Part of her concern, other than the unsightliness of the condition, was why this was happening to her.
This daughter was sensitive to her environment and worried about circumstances. She would wrangle with issues—good and bad—affecting her friends, family, and teachers. This state of mind often made her feel like an outsider, separate from others.
Initially, the physical appearance of this condition was overwhelming to me, but through prayer I found relief in this powerful passage from Science and Health, "The calm, strong currents of true spirituality, the manifestations of which are health, purity, and self-immolation, must deepen human experience, until the beliefs of material existence are seen to be a bald imposition, and sin, disease, and death give everlasting place to the scientific demonstration of divine Spirit and to God's spiritual, perfect man" (p.99).
I knew we needed strength and calm, which is our natural state of spiritual expression, and that I must stick to the truth of our being—our perfection, purity, and health as the children of divine Spirit. I was convinced that by doing this, the "belief of material existence" could be seen as "bald impositions," and her real selfhood as Love's expression would shine forth naturally. This became a very sweet time, as we both prayed to "deepen" our "human experience."
After about a week with no apparent change, the practitioner suggested I bring my daughter in for an office visit. What was supposed to be a short visit resulted in an hour of thoughtful questioning of the practitioner by my daughter, in which she asked such questions as: "Do you believe in God? How do you know there is a God?" I rejoiced in my daughter's earnest and sincere inquisitiveness, and knew this was a turning point, as she listened carefully as each question was lovingly answered by the practitioner. She was feeling her inseparability from her Father-Mother, divine Love.
Shortly after this visit, I was in my bedroom and could hear my daughter playing and singing down the hallway. Because I was removed from her physically, I became completely aware of the spiritual qualities she was naturally and innocently expressing. In that profoundly quiet moment, I recalled Christ Jesus' admonition, "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly" (Matt. 6:6).
I knew I was in that "closet" and that I could feel the touch of the Christ. I began to write the following poem that day—my psalm of rejoicing.
As I finished this poem in recent months, I was reminded of the touch of the Christ I felt in that "closet," which Mrs. Eddy describes as typifying "the sanctuary of Spirit, the door of which shuts out sinful sense but lets in Truth, Life, and Love" (Science and Health, p.15).
A mother's closet
In my room, separate, door open...
I hear with unstopped ears, her singing,
child-like alleluias of limitless play,
No self-conscious aggravations of matter,
High notes of joy praise her true body,
Spirit's unblemished offspring.
Eyes unblinded, I see the "king's daughter,"
Glorious within and without,
No marring, dis-ease defiling,
Eternally secure within Truth's kingdom,
heaven/harmony
Radiating You, face-to-face.
I taste Soul's honeyed substance
grace so sweet,
Mind's salve, soothing and pure,
Now and ever, innocent of irritation,
at peace.
Senses unclogged, I smell the aroma of Life's promise,
All is well!
Enveloping man/woman/child/mother/father
with perfect care,
Perfuming each with infinite beauty,
A fragrance, rare.
And then, in Your room... together... door closed...
I touch in my heart a place of Love's knowing,
Mothering of me and her, humbling,
Tenderly caressing,
Hugging in measureless embrace,
Love's loved, never separated in the closet.
My daughter and I both had indeed "shut out sinful sense," and her complete healing occurred effortlessly within a couple of days. Later, in junior high, she had skin irritations on her arms a couple of times, although I am unsure it was the same condition. It appeared whenever she was overly anxious about something. Each time, we expressed deep gratitude for her former healing and recalled her undisturbed nature as the image of divine Love. These occurrences stopped and have never returned.
She continues blossoming with poise, compassion, and goodness, and she contributes vitally wherever she finds herself. Also, at her school she currently serves on a Reconciliation Committee whose goal is to help troubled peers in a thoughtful way with the expectation of healing.
I remember the physical aspects of this healing as though they were dream–like and never really occurred—yet the spiritual significance of the healing continues to radiate. I can never thank God enough for all He has done for my four children, my sweet, supportive husband, and for me. My main hope is that I can share this Science of being, the promised Comforter, with others in need.
LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE, CALIFORNIA
