Recently I stopped by a nail salon to get a manicure. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, so I had no reading materials with me. This was a first since I always had a copy of The Christian Science Journal, Christian Science Sentinel, or Christian Science Bible Lesson with me when I would go.
As the nail technician began removing the polish, she was sneezing, coughing, wiping her eyes, and blowing her nose. In broken English, she apologized, and I just reassured her all was well. Very soon, she asked me how my business was. I’m a Christian Science practitioner, and I’ll admit I was actually hoping she wouldn’t ask me what I did—the salon was filled with people and there was no privacy. Can you guess her next question? Yes, she asked me what I did, and I told her.
Then she asked what that meant. I cannot remember exactly what I said, but I did tell her that practitioners help people find healing through prayer. Pointing to her red nose and watering eyes, she asked if I could heal “that.” I replied that God certainly could heal and He is the only creator. I also told her she was made in His image and likeness (see Genesis 1:26, 27) and, therefore, perfect to God.
I understood even more clearly it is always divine Mind, never a person,
who does the healing.
As she continued to work on my nails and I prayed, this statement from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy came to thought: “Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God’s own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick. Thus Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is intact, universal, and that man is pure and holy” (pp. 476–477).
I also began thinking how, years ago, it had always irritated me when I would go to a nail salon and the workers would talk to each other in a language I couldn’t understand. Also, I was often aggravated by how the technicians would answer a phone, while waiting on me, to make another appointment with someone else.
But now, a shift occurred within me, and I saw what courage it must take to come to a country knowing little or none of the language and begin working. At my nail technician’s station, there was a picture of her baby, which she proudly showed me when she saw me looking at it, and I felt the love she had for this child. And when she stopped to answer the telephone to make an appointment, I mentally acknowledged her willingness to work hard.
My heart was overflowing with love as I thought of all the times I had been busy with my own reading materials so I wouldn’t have to talk to someone who couldn’t understand my language. Now, I realized love is the universal language. Humbly, I looked into the technician’s eyes and saw the expression of the Christ. I noticed that her eyes were no longer red, her nose wasn’t dripping, nor was she coughing or sneezing. Although she didn’t acknowledge this change, I felt as if I was on holy ground and understood even more clearly it is always divine Mind, never a person, who does the healing.
There in the salon, I remembered in the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus states this of healing and doing good to others: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (25:40).
