For many years, I anticipated receiving and enjoyed reading the weekly and monthly Christian Science periodicals. These magazines always brought me inspiration, spiritual growth, and healing. And because of this, I developed a desire to contribute to this collection of literary and spiritual richness by sharing my healing inspiration and proofs with others. Yet, no matter the amount of effort I allocated to the writing process, I continued to stare at the proverbial blank paper.
Undeterred by my lack of progress, I was encouraged by and prayed with this statement from the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy: “Working and praying with true motives, your Father will open the way” (p. 326). I was also inspired by a statement Mrs. Eddy once wrote to her students: “If my own students cannot spare time to write to God,—when they address me I shall be apt to forward their letters to Him as our common Parent, and by way of The Christian Science Journal; thus fulfilling their moral obligation to furnish some reading-matter for our denominational organ” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 155).
I now realized that my motivation to write for the periodicals had to be more than just a personal desire; it required unselfish obedience to what Mrs. Eddy points out as a “moral obligation.” And what greater joy can we have than to “write to God”? Many students of Christian Science have risen to fulfill this expectation and most noble duty to express their gratitude for healing by submitting manuscripts for publication.
As I continued to pray with a more God-centered emphasis, a specific topic for an article did finally come to mind, yet I couldn’t adequately narrow down my focus, nor arrive at a suitable title. So for about the next six years, I took notes and wrote down specific inspirations, along with ideas discovered through research. But to no avail.
Feeling confident that God, divine Mind, is the source of all ideas and the only real author, I continued to patiently listen for the intelligent unfoldment of His plan. And one night, it came! I was watching television, when suddenly the ideas about this article began to clearly circulate and organize in my thought. Furthermore, a title for the article presented itself, providing clarity of focus. Even the first sentence of the article emerged.
I now realized that my motivation to write for the periodicals had to be more than just a personal desire.
After all these years, could this finally be happening? Nonetheless, I was intently engaged watching a sporting event, so while holding the television remote in my hand, I mentally debated for several seconds the choice I would make. Decisively, I chose to turn off the television and write!
For the next few hours, ideas flowed, organizing themselves into spontaneous and unplanned structure. In the early hours of the morning, I submitted my completed article online, and about two weeks later, I received notification that it had been accepted for publication. Following this was the invaluable learning opportunity of working with the editorial staff of The Christian Science Publishing Society, as we polished and fine-tuned the article in order to develop and improve its message and focus prior to publication.
What seemed baffling to me while writing the article, was that none of the notes I had made over the previous years was used. Had all the note-taking and research been a waste? Were these past moments of inspiration over the years meaningless and unproductive? No! They were indispensable and priceless contributions to my spiritual growth and development, fine-tuning my receptivity to God’s intent and purpose and my ability to discern and express it.
For those considering a writing project, what might appear as some of the stumbling blocks that would prevent us from writing? Certainly, apathy and procrastination would be considered enemies to our writing efforts. What about the suggestion that there just aren’t enough hours in the day to pray, listen, and write down our moments of inspiration and healing? And then there’s self-doubt—the specious argument that says we don’t have sufficient knowledge of Christian Science or that we haven’t studied Christian Science long enough in order to make a meaningful contribution.
Perhaps one of the biggest roadblocks that would pose a barrier to our way forward in the writing and publishing process, is the misleading suggestion that because we are still praying about an unresolved challenge, we are unqualified to write or submit a manuscript for publication. To capitulate to this lie only ensures failure.
Each of these suggestions should be seen and handled on the basis of its falsity; they are incapable of depriving us of our God-ordained ability to bear witness to and to communicate effectively the healing truths and proofs of Christian Science. The Bible tells us, “He that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God” (John 3:21). Accordingly, the desire to write for the periodicals is not born of human will; it is natural for us to express God through unselfishly sharing the truths we have learned.
Whether as contributor or reader—or both—it is ultimately God who inspires, animates, and defines our participation in the activities of publishing. “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it” (Psalms 68:11). As we grow in our Christianity and strive to be more unselfish, putting others before ourselves, we will better understand the blessing our contributions bring to mankind. What greater writing goal could we have than to actively participate in sharing and distributing our individual inspiration and proofs of Christian Science healing?
