When I was a young mother caring full time for my two small children, I went through a period of many weeks where I experienced extreme fear, distress, and loneliness and was unable to sleep through the night.
I prayed with the weekly Bible Lesson from the Christian Science Quarterly and further studied the Bible and the writings of Mary Baker Eddy whenever I got the chance. I also read that Mrs. Eddy once said, “There has been a voice saying to me, ‘Mary, take yourself out of the way and let God act through you’ ” (Irving C. Tomlinson, Twelve Years with Mary Baker Eddy, Amplified Edition, p. 163). I was deeply touched by this and applied it to myself, acknowledging that I have my being in the divine Mind, and only this Mind is able to see, hear, feel, think, speak, or act.
In the midst of my search for healing, I was sidetracked by a plumbing leak in our home, which was difficult to locate. We had two choices—to rip up the bathroom where the plumbers thought the leak might be (but weren’t sure), or we could take the expensive step of running a completely new pipeline over the existing pipes. The first option would be inexpensive if the leak could be found quickly, but it was a gamble because we might need to rip up other areas of the house to locate the leak.
I knew that no human reasoning could put me at peace about this, but I could trust God, Mind, to lead me. I called a Christian Science practitioner to support my prayer. Christian Science explains that what we see, hear, and feel through the physical senses is an illusion based on false, material beliefs. To find healing and peace, we must translate things into thoughts and understand that God has complete control over His spiritual ideas. I began seeing the thoughts flowing through my home—my consciousness—as reflecting God’s continuous flow of goodness, which is perfectly complete and protected.
Later that afternoon I was reading hymns and a verse jumped out at me:
Make channels for the streams of Love,
Where they may broadly run;
And Love has overflowing streams,
To fill them every one.
(Richard C. Trench, Christian Science Hymnal, No. 182, © CSBD)
I knew the answer immediately—we would run a new pipe. I was at peace, confident that this was the right thing to do, and I was so grateful for God’s loving guidance. We had the plumber completely cut off the old pipeline with the leak and reconnect a new pipeline over the old, corroded one.
But the blessings didn’t stop there. As time went on, I realized that this plumbing problem had a lesson for me about healing the dark, anxious thoughts I had been having. During one of my sleepless nights, I applied to myself the spiritual truths I had applied to find the answer about the plumbing. I acknowledged that God is the only source of my thoughts, and there could be no holes in His “pipeline” that could result in leakage of good or contamination by fear and distress. Rather, I saw the negative thoughts as false suggestions coming from a mistaken sense of a mind apart from God. So I cut off the flow of these corroded thoughts, just as the plumber did, and allowed flood-tides of Love to flow to me through a perfect, unflawed pipeline.
Immediately every aspect of my distress was lifted. I was healed and completely at peace. But the next day, all the fearful thinking returned, so I prayed as before and again felt free. The cycle kept repeating, and my prayer treatments continued to evolve as inspiration opened up new views. This time of spiritual growth went on for several months while complaint, self-pity, burden, irritation, impatience, and remorse were replaced by joy, harmony, patience, gratitude, and forgiveness.
Then one night at 3:00 a.m., I again awoke with extreme fear. I held very strongly to the comforting power of the ninety-first Psalm. I also thought about this passage from Romans: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (8:38, 39).
I held to the truth, with absolute divine authority, that I could never be separated from God’s love, no matter what seemed to be going on. My thought was lifted far above the seeming repetition of evil, and I came to the beautiful revelation that I was eternally untouched and eternally safe in God’s arms. Suddenly I felt a change taking place. I experienced a feeling of intense love and serenity that I had never felt before. I felt God’s divine presence surrounding my entire being as I wept with joy. This divine healing presence was so strong, the fear simply melted away, and I knew I was completely and permanently healed. It felt so wonderful to finally be free—I was filled with the light of Christ. I will never forget this beautiful experience!
This healing took place many years ago, but blessings still flow from its lessons. If suggestions of fear and distress come to me now, I am able to dismiss them immediately, knowing they are not from God. This experience helped me better understand how to heal as Christ Jesus did, and many wonderful healings in our family followed.
Jill Longanecker-Wiedman
Ormond Beach, Florida, US
