I love walking and hiking. There is nothing quite like climbing a mountain and looking out at the view from the summit. Freedom of movement is foundational to this activity, so when I started having intermittent pain in one hip a few years ago, I was afraid of what that might mean for my ability to hike and participate in other activities.
At first I thought the pain would pass with time, but instead it grew more constant. I realized then that I needed to pray about it. I started out by affirming spiritual truths, such as the fact that God is omnipotent and omnipresent and therefore always with me, loving me, and perfectly meeting my needs. That helped lessen my fear so I could listen to what God was saying to me and feel His grace and love. My motivation wasn’t just to have my ability to hike restored, but also to hear what spiritual lessons divine Love was providing.
I was encouraged by these reassuring words of Mary Baker Eddy: “Remember, thou canst be brought into no condition, be it ever so severe, where Love has not been before thee and where its tender lesson is not awaiting thee. Therefore despair not nor murmur, for that which seeketh to save, to heal, and to deliver, will guide thee, if thou seekest this guidance” (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, pp. 149–150).
