Some time ago my husband planted some vines which meandered around our patio and small yard. Then he put up some trellises, and the vines “discovered” the new structures. They began to wrap their tendrils around the trellises, growing higher and higher as if seeking more light and freedom.
I have observed how our spiritual journey may be likened to those vines. We seem to be planted in this often puzzling and troubling material world, and we reach out in many directions seeking ways to obtain a sense of well-being, purpose, growth, meaning, and happiness. The ways of coping that take place at ground level may be accompanied by disappointments, frustrations, even calamities, which awaken a deep, natural desire for something higher, something more secure and satisfying. Eventually we are led to discover new and expansive ideas that begin to change our limited, disturbing material view of life, ourselves, and God. Clinging to these new ideas, we experience hope, joy, spiritual growth, and enlightenment.
In my youth I was blessed to have attended Christian Science Sunday School. There I received a foundation for a thoughtful, spiritual life. From loving teachers I learned about the Bible as explained by the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy—all of which seemed very natural and comforting to me.
