I had been spending a lot of time in preparation for the annual meeting of the Christian Science students’ association where I am a member, and was cherishing fresh insights about man’s oneness with his source—God, infinite good. I wanted to keep these ideas close to me, and in my enthusiasm, I decided to take a copy of Mary Baker Eddy’s Prose Works (a compilation of most of her published writings on Christian Science other than her primary work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures) to my place of employment. I intended to study it during my lunch hour.
I work at an elementary school, and one day, without asking, I borrowed a teaching colleague’s highlighter from his desk to highlight passages in the book. After my lunch break, when I returned the highlighter to my colleague and thanked him for the loan, he asked what I had been highlighting. I quickly tried to circumvent any discussion and told him it was just a book I was reading. “What kind of book?” he queried. Frankly, I felt sheepish about disclosing what I was reading, preferring to keep my light safely hidden under a bushel. But then the words just tumbled out of my mouth: “It’s a book about spiritual healing.”
I thought that would be enough to satisfy his curiosity and forestall further conversation, and that I could now hide the book safely back in my bag. But he was not about to let the conversation end. “I am very interested in spiritual healing!” he said. “Can I please see your book?”
