Of Good Report

For many people, including me, the Bible is a spiritual guide from which to draw strength, a source of inspiration, a message whose power can pull them out of the quagmire. It comforts us in these words: “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

I live in El Bolsón , in the province of Río Negro, Argentina. One day, while I was traveling along the highway with a friend to another province, one of the tires on my car blew out.

Years ago, I was driving my car, when I had a stroke and crashed into a utility truck. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the utility workers called an ambulance and my husband.

When I was a child, my mother would take me to see a Christian Science practitioner when I didn’t feel well. It was such a good experience that I remember sometimes saying, “Please, Momma, take me to that nice lady.

I often carry my smartphone in a rear pocket of my trousers. Rather than sitting on the phone, when I used a ride sharing car recently, I took it out and laid it on the seat next to me—then forgot to take it with me when I left the car.

“Be a sunflower,” a friend posted online­—a reminder to me to focus my attention on God, as young sunflowers track the sun.   Not long afterward, I was on an early morning dog walk and marveled at a vast field of sunflowers, all turned upward toward the rising sun.

In an editorial in the Christian Science Sentinel dated May 1, 2023, the author speaks of stillness and how, in busy contemporary life, many people turn to prayer for calm grounding (Mary Beattie, “ The value of stillness ”). She writes, “Opening up to a quiet fount of spiritual ideas stills thought that is fearful, muddled, or self-focused and leads to healing.

I’ve found that physical workouts can be such a joy and take so many different forms. Sometimes we exercise in an effort to stay fit, and sometimes we do it more for fun.

Recently I experienced the longest trip of my life, and it reinforced my understanding of and trust in God. I was traveling with a comrade to another part of the country, to support a mutual friend at a family funeral.

Something special happens when people gather together to explore their relationship to God and church. As they draw closer to divine Love, God, and share inspiration, they find themselves drawing closer to each other, too.