One afternoon this past winter, I was working at my office and started feeling slightly ill. It was a busy day and I didn’t have much time to think about it, so I plugged along for the remainder of the day. However, when I arrived at home that evening, as I walked in the door, I suddenly started to face more acute symptoms of the flu.
We had heard some news reports about the flu during the winter, and there was a lot of talk about it in various circles. My wife and I had been alert and done our best individually to dispute the reports’ claims that people could be susceptible to contracting a seasonal disease. We had refused to accept the prediction that flu symptoms would be prevalent. However, when I arrived at home that evening and was suddenly feeling all the symptoms that had been described, I found myself thinking, “You’re home now and you don’t feel well, so just get into bed, and you’ll probably have to stay home tomorrow and nurse this for a couple of days.” But immediately, as that erroneous picture presented itself to me, I thought, “This is ridiculous! I do not have to accept this verdict or believe it for one minute.”
Mary Baker Eddy instructs on page 495 of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “When the illusion of sickness or sin tempts you, cling steadfastly to God and His idea. Allow nothing but His likeness to abide in your thought.” I was surely being tempted by the illusion of sickness, and I just needed to see this for what it was—a false mental suggestion. I needed to “stand porter at the door of thought,” as she teaches on page 392 of Science and Health.
