About ten years ago I started having some respiratory problems. They weren’t showstoppers at first, but I would be out of breath just from running a short distance to catch a bus. I also had a cough that my work colleagues pointed out “didn’t sound good at all.”
As a lifelong student of Christian Science, I see now how things might have been different earlier on if I’d prayed more diligently about these problems instead of just pushing through them.
One night before going to bed, I suddenly found myself struggling to breathe. I lay down on the bed and reached out to God with all my heart. It’s the first time I had ever felt afraid I might die. The omnipotent heart of divine Love did indeed answer my prayer of extremity, and after what seemed like a very long minute or two, I could breathe again. But this badly frightened me. The next day I did not go to work but spent the day in quiet prayer.
