I was relatively new in my study of Christian Science when I went back to university to see if I wanted to pursue getting an MFA. Almost immediately, I was faced with some challenges.
In one of my courses, I was getting failing grades. Thankfully, the end-of-term research paper was going to count for 90 percent of the final mark, and I was hoping to turn things around. I was also working part time as a lunch supervisor at a junior high school. I enjoyed supervising and playing with the children during lunch hour, but there was one twelve-year-old girl who continually stirred up trouble. I was pretty laid back about the whole thing, and tried to treat the situation with a very lighthearted touch. This approach minimized the difficulties, but didn’t really solve them.
God was constantly imparting the needed insights and inspiration for every task I faced.
Initially, I didn’t think to pray about these issues, relying mostly on charm, my love for people, and hard work to solve my problems. It all came to a head when I got a C for my term paper and at the same time the young girl became even more disruptive.
The turnaround in my thought for both problems came during a Wednesday evening testimony meeting. Someone had testified about studying the chapter “Genesis” in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy because it was about the creation of ideas. It was exactly what I needed to hear, because I was fresh out of ways to approach and solve these problems. I began to ponder the idea that all creation is actually spiritual and that God is the unlimited source of all inspiration and intelligence.
Right around the same time, my professor decided to give the entire class a chance for a better mark if we reworked and resubmitted our research paper before the end of the second semester. This time I approached everything differently. For the next two months, I started my scholarly efforts by studying the “Genesis” chapter every day before working on the paper. The overarching spiritual lesson I learned from the chapter was how to recognize and listen for creative and loving thoughts from divine Mind, God.
One highlight of my study was this passage: “Spirit, God, gathers unformed thoughts into their proper channels, and unfolds these thoughts, even as He opens the petals of a holy purpose in order that the purpose may appear” (p. 506). I also appreciated the thought that “Mind is Life, Truth, and Love which governs all” (p. 508). As I prayerfully worked with these ideas, I started to recognize that I was never alone. God was constantly imparting the needed insights and inspiration for every task I faced.
Right on the heels of that thought came the angel message, “God, divine Mind, directs and governs all.”
The result of my inspired study was to totally revamp the paper with a fresh approach. When I resubmitted my paper, the professor was surprised and told me he had been expecting the same paper but with all the grammatical and spelling mistakes fixed. Instead, he got a very different research paper that he praised for originality, differing perspectives, and insights. He said I had a promising career as a sociologist and gave the paper an A.
I also had a healing experience with the young girl. During a game of tag at lunch, the kids began to frantically yell that there was a student in trouble. At first, I thought it was part of the game—a clever ruse so they could catch me. But it soon became clear that there was an emergency.
The young girl who had been causing so much trouble was choking on something. As I quickly came to her side, I felt guilty for not recognizing the situation sooner. Right on the heels of that thought came the angel message, “God, divine Mind, directs and governs all.” I had absolutely no doubt or fear in that moment of spiritual clarity; and before I even had time to help her, she was no longer choking. The school bell rang, and she ran off to class with all the other kids. I stood there, stunned, and thanked God.
On the following Sunday, I went to a friend’s church service. While I was waiting for my friend in the lobby, this same young girl came bounding joyfully down the stairs and stopped right in front of me. Caught off guard at seeing each other outside of school, we stared at each other for a moment until we finally both said a pleasant “Hi.”
For the rest of the month and a half that I worked as a lunchroom supervisor there, she behaved beautifully, and there were no further problems.
Both of these healings moved me from someone who had casual “faith” in God, to someone who experienced how God, divine Principle, loves, directs, and governs us all. These experiences joyfully propelled me to handle my future problems through prayer and the study of the Bible and Science and Health.
When we learn the way in Christian Science and recognize man’s spiritual being, we shall behold and understand God’s creation, — all the glories of earth and heaven and man.
—Mary Baker Eddy
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 264
