It was a cold winter morning, and I had settled on my living room floor, along with my Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, to study the weekly Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson on “Spirit.” After reading halfway through the Lesson, I looked up and stared out my patio doors. My eyes became transfixed on what appeared to be smoke rising from the corner of the fence that enclosed the patio. It was rising rapidly, yet there was no fire visible. I remember momentarily thinking I smelled smoke. But did I? I wasn’t sure.
Quickly, I arose, slipped on a robe and shoes, and went outdoors. After examining the area, I found no evidence of fire or heat. In fact, all that could be seen or felt was damp wood, sunshine, and the cold morning air. I returned to the living room almost convinced that all I had been observing was vapor resulting from the morning sun shining down on the cold, damp wood.
I say “almost” because after I returned indoors and again saw what appeared to be smoke, I wasn’t completely satisfied. Had I overlooked something? So convincing were the senses, I went back outside for further investigation to determine once and for all what I was seeing. It was in fact vapor, only giving the illusion of smoke. Thus, I learned an important lesson about the aggressive deceptiveness of the material senses.
