Of Good Report

In 2020 I was a victim of fraud and lost my savings. When I realized I had been scammed, I reported the theft to the financial institution that had held my money and to the police.

A number of years ago, I found myself in a pinch regarding a used vehicle I had recently purchased. New to the used-car market, I was unfamiliar with the tricks some sellers use to offload damaged vehicles.

Pioneering is essential to Christian practice. Embracing the pioneering spirit in our efforts to understand and experience God, uplifts everything we do, and is at the heart of genuine progress.

As a fairly new member of a Christian Science branch church years ago, I was happy to be elected to serve on its Board of Trustees—my first opportunity to fill a church board position. What I didn’t know was that the membership was bitterly divided over whether to keep or sell the church edifice, and that board work would be contentious and stressful.

Last year, our daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren were spending a holiday weekend with my wife and me. After enjoying some time outdoors, my daughter and I had just started up the exterior stairs when we heard disturbingly loud cracking sounds.

It was the morning after Christmas, Boxing Day. I had studied the Bible Lesson from the Christian Science Quarterly, which was on the subject of “God.

Some years ago I came to understand, in a tangible way, the meaning of this quote from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy: “Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need” ( p. 494 ).

American humorist Garrison Keillor quipped, “Anyone who thinks sitting in church can make you a Christian must also think that sitting in a garage can make you a car. ”  True, yet attending church is so much more than being a “pew potato” instead of a “couch potato.

Breaking up with someone who has been important to you can bring a sense of loss, grief, hurt, and sometimes anger. But these feelings are not inevitable.

It was supposed to be one of those simple drives into town—to drop off a package for mailing, pick up a loaf of bread, leave a bag of gently used clothes in a donation box.   I’ve learned, however, as a student of Christian Science, that even these so-called mundane tasks are often opportunities to learn more about one’s relationship to God—more about the healing nature of divine Love.