New every time

A friend once told me that every winter she takes out a large favorite jigsaw puzzle that covers much of her dining room table when finished. “Don’t you get bored doing the same puzzle over and over?” I asked. Her reply has meant a lot to me.

“No,” she said. “Each time I rework the puzzle I see new ways of fitting the pieces together to make the whole. Each experience is fresh and new, and each year I see the end result faster than before.”

Her approach to doing her jigsaw puzzle parallels my experience of encountering the same Bible Lesson subjects published in the Christian Science Quarterly twice a year. One might ask, How do the Bible Lessons on the same 26 subjects repeated twice a year, every year, continue to bless and uplift? Don’t they get old and boring? Absolutely not! Every Lesson is fresh and unique. New selections and perspectives open up fresh new insights each time a subject returns. A line that may have been glossed over many times is suddenly seen in a different light. Healing ideas mesh and inspire new views of God’s love and guidance. As we grow in our understanding and practice of Christian Science, the depth and breadth of what we are studying continually expands in our thinking.