Not so long ago I thought I was doing all I needed to do for church by working as a Christian Science nurse. I decided that this was my church work. But all of that changed one day about three years ago. I was working my usual Sunday shift at a Christian Science nursing facility, and while lifting a patient, I injured my back. It felt as though I had pulled something. My back hurt, and it was a challenge to move. Gratefully, I was able to get the patient to her destination and back, but by the time I finished I could barely limp out to the nurses’ station to finish up the remaining half hour of my shift.
As I drove home, I prayed fervently for myself. I didn’t want to alarm my family, so I agreed to go on a shopping trip with them. But by the time I arrived home I knew that I needed help, and I called a Christian Science practitioner for prayerful support. The first thing she shared with me was part of the definition of Church from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy: “The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle” (p. 583). We also talked about the platform of Christian Science, beginning on page 330 of Science and Health, which contains foundational truths on which we stand metaphysically.
The next morning I was able to go back to work, but I still needed prayerful support and could not do any lifting. This happened to be the day of the Annual Meeting of The Mother Church, and it was a joy to watch the broadcast of the meeting on the Internet.
