Articles

To outward appearances, Mary Baker Eddy was just another mortal walking around in her corner of the world. And in a way, she lived a normal life for someone who was propelled into the world’s limelight.

Why did Mary Baker Eddy, who founded the Christian Science Church, establish a secular international newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor? Why would a religious leader also have a purpose for news and information? As a staff editor for the Monitor, it’s a question I have thought about a lot.

As I sit on the couch, our family’s pet cat, Lily, is curled up next to me. Sometimes she lifts her head to look at me with begging eyes.

I have known the 23rd Psalm since I was a child. A friend was given a Bible for perfect attendance in her Sunday School, and she shared that Bible with me.

When I called a friend for some information, I was aware—even on the phone—that she was having difficulty getting up and going to get what I’d asked for. As she slowly moved to the other room, she used a very familiar expression among Christian Scientists.

There’s a slogan that reads, “What’s not to love?” Well, sometimes I seem to know all too clearly just what is unlovable about my identity; it doesn’t seem possible that God could love me as He looks at me. Perhaps some mistakes bear down on me.

One of Jesus’ most compelling statements is a powerful message to us today: “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” ( John 14:12 ). Greater works? Jesus raised the dead! He must have known because of his origin—the virgin birth—that he had what might be humanly considered a “head start.

One day I received a call to pray from someone who works for a company where he sometimes encounters sad stories from clients. As I listened to this man, I also listened to God for words of comfort to share.

When I study the weekly Christian Science Bible Lessons I try to pay special attention to the familiar passages from the Scriptures and Science and Health that I’m tempted to read over quickly. I take a moment to ask for an open thought and receptivity to a new way of seeing those words.

When I visited the Jordan River, I saw how much it represented life to Israel. It can be a dry and inhospitable land, but where the river runs there is a flourishing verdure.