My first job out of college was working for the New York City offices of The Christian Science Publishing Society. Every day I would take the subway to Midtown and then walk a couple of blocks to our building next to the New York Public Library, and every evening I would walk up Fifth Avenue to a Christian Science church. One of my housemates was the clerk there, and I would practice piano in the Sunday School for an hour or two. Some evenings I would take a ballroom dance class afterward.
A couple of months after starting my job, pain and swelling in my feet and ankles made my normal, active life difficult. It became very painful to walk and climb stairs. My shoes did not fit properly. The pain quickly spread to all of my joints, and I was overwhelmed with fear.
I called a local Christian Science practitioner to pray with me. My biggest concern was identifying the source of the problem. The practitioner emphasized that this problem had no source. “It’s a big zero,” he said.
