The light of correct Scientific thought

Question 2: Share a testimony other than physical healing in which reading one or more of Skip’s articles had played an important part in your own spiritual study and prayer and final demonstration.

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Years ago, when I felt ready to take class instruction in Christian Science, I wondered whom to choose for a teacher. I was living in Boston, which had several teachers, so I decided to schedule interviews with each one. As I visited them, they all seemed fine, but I did not feel drawn to any particular one. Moving down my list, however, I did gain a conviction that one thing I was not looking for in a teacher was a relationship based on human personality. Beyond this, I did not know what to look for, and felt very much at sea.

The last teacher on my list was Skip. In response to a question of mine during our interview, he suggested I read an editorial he had written in the Christian Science Sentinel. Although I had already read that editorial, that evening at home, I obediently sat down to read it again.

Part way through the editorial, I suddenly saw what is hard to put into words. It was like a path of beautiful light that was not of this world. This light was correct Scientific thought, and the passage I was reading had it. The light had nothing to do with the topic of the editorial, nor anything particular said in it; rather it was the thinking behind it, where it came from, the substance of it. That was what I was looking for! Correct Scientific thought would be my teacher! Although the glimpse was brief and tenuous, I knew this was my answer from God.

Because it came to me through Skip’s editorial, I decided to choose him for my teacher. The next day, when I went to tell him that I would like to take class with him, he was surprised. Our interview the day before had not gone all that well, and he suggested that I might like to talk to other teachers, too. He was again surprised when I said that he was the last in a series of teachers I had already interviewed with. I was not troubled by any awkwardness, because I knew God had shown me the teacher I should choose, and no other consideration could stand against that.

Skip then asked that we have another interview, to clarify some questions. The second interview went better, and I was accepted into his next class, which began a few days later. I had to smile that one of the lessons on the first day of class addressed personality.

During class and over the following years of our Association, I always found the correct Science that I looked for in his teaching. It was always there, and I have never had cause for any doubts about this.

Lifted out of mortal mind’s dark rabbit holes

Question 2: Share a testimony other than physical healing in which reading one or more of Skip’s articles had played an important part in your own spiritual study and prayer and final demonstration.

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This year it feels more urgent and necessary than ever to renew my commitment to demonstrating Christian Science for myself and practicing it more selflessly. How helpful it has been to re-read Skip’s articles and editorials, which are a continuing blessing for us all. Of course, I’ve had favorites over the years, but this time I’ve discovered new favorites, which have been immediately practical in lifting claims of fear and despair, including discouragement over the prospects for our branch church’s survival amid declining membership. 

These new favorites include “But is it true?” (Sentinel, July 30, 1984), “No longer thinking in matter” (Sentinel, November 12, 1984), “Some thoughts about Christian Science treatment” (Sentinel, March 18, 1985), and “Healing work” (Sentinel, February 1, 1988). Each time I read these, a cloud is lifted or space is opened to hear more clearly what our textbook is telling us about the nature of reality and the possibilities of unselfed love. Several times recently on waking in the night with fearful and restless thoughts, I’ve read one of these new favorites, which reassured me and allowed a more peaceful sleep.

Skip’s natural affection for Science and persuasive reasoning help unpack the metaphysics of our textbook, making healing look possible, however dire the picture may seem. His writings have a way of gently lifting the reader out of mortal mind’s dark rabbit holes of self-absorption. I’m freshly thankful for this continuing light that’s pouring forth from our periodicals. 

Thank you also for this year’s citations, which march us through the Christian demands and broader implications of what we are learning. Though I seem to be a slow student, I’m learning to make these lessons more specific and practical.

Protected while caring for a friend with COVID

Question 1: Share a physical healing or healings in which reading one or more of Skip’s articles played an important part in your own spiritual study and prayer and ultimate healing.

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This past month, I spent quite a bit of time with a friend who was experiencing COVID symptoms. She took a test, which came back positive. She discouraged me from being in the house with her—from eating, sleeping, or working in the same space. However, the only way I could care for her with food or blankets was to be on hand. While I did stay out of public settings so as not to disturb thought, I genuinely was not afraid that my own health was at risk.

My friend is not a Christian Scientist, and when she asked me to take her to a medical clinic, I calmly did so. While she appreciated my calm care for her, she kept asserting that I would become sick as a result of being with her. I chuckled about how similar that assertion was to the claim in the allegory of the trial in Science and Health (pp. 430–442)—caring for a sick friend, whether the name of the disease was liver complaint or COVID.

What I appreciated about this experience was that I could daily pray to know that there isn’t any power in a material thing called a virus—not if God is All-in-all. I could pray to know that about my friend and I could give myself a treatment each day. While I did not test for COVID, I did not have any symptoms of disease and was healthy throughout the experience. 

As I think about which of Skip’s articles helped bring about this healing, three come to mind: “Christianly scientific prayer” (Sentinel, September 19, 2011), “Something to help with your health” (Sentinel, October 12, 1987), and “How much can you pray about?” (Sentinel, December 17, 1990). It was simultaneously all of them and none of them exclusively. As always, it is God that does the healing, Mary Baker Eddy who explains it, and our dear Teacher who brings us back again and again to what Science is showing us.

I treated my son and my wife’s fear

Question 1: Share a physical healing or healings in which reading one or more of Skip’s articles played an important part in your own spiritual study and prayer and ultimate healing.

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I found Skip through his writings. Years ago, I was struggling with purpose, focus, and other things that drove me to spend time in reading rooms. I still remember the day I noticed the spiritual depth to Skip’s articles, which eventually led me to class instruction. Skip’s pure teaching straightened my path, my grasp on God.

Recently, after reading several of Skip’s articles, I had the feeling of being much more than an individual trying to use Christian Science to heal. I felt the power back of the Cause and knew it was something other than human ability. 

Around this time, our son seemed to show the symptoms of meningitis. My wife was very fearful because the passing of one of her elementary-school classmates had been attributed to this disease. My wife asked for treatment for our son and for her fears, as well.

I remembered Skip advising us that child cases should be taken up with urgency, so I treated my son and my wife. It didn’t take long, but it did take courage. From my recent readings I knew it wasn’t personal power, and thus my treatments could work.

Our son’s symptoms abated, but the next day his condition seemed to be following the feared projection. There was more prayer. Then a third time it came up and was treated and dismissed. Despite the fears of mortal mind, the symptoms never spread to other kids. But there would be more work to do.

We went on a family vacation, and about a week later the symptoms returned. My wife again said she was afraid, but this time she said that we needed to hold to the idea that God is our son’s only Father and Mother. I clung to this, starting with Love and removing fear.

I then continued to spiritualize thought regarding two topics: our son’s recent weight-lifting regime and his irregular Sunday school attendance. I reasoned physical exercise for bulking up matter was a counterfeit of real spiritual discipline. A pivotal moment came when I realized my regret of his irregular Sunday school attendance was unfounded. Why? Because if church is “the structure of Truth and Love,” man as God’s reflection can’t live outside of it and is always in it. This seemed very appropriate as the belief included structural (or muscular) pain.

Our son knew we were praying for him, but over the next few days he took pain relievers from time to time. When this began, I shifted from treating him to just loving him and correcting my own thought. After several days of holding to the truth, the threat evaporated.

Throughout this challenge, I noticed a gentler demeanor in our son and more kindness and consideration of others, which of course was always there in his true identity. Reading Skip’s article “Always an unbroken family” (Sentinel, April 10, 1989) showed me how this new-found familial affection must extend to all in the human family.

Healing of a twisted ankle

Question 1: Share a physical healing or healings in which reading one or more of Skip’s articles played an important part in your own spiritual study and prayer and ultimate healing.

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Several months ago, I was at my home showing a contractor work that needed to be done to prepare the house for sale. I was standing on the bottom step of some stairs, and as I stepped to the ground, I fell sideways, badly twisting my ankle. 

I got up, but I was in a lot of pain. I tried walking it off, but it was startlingly clear to me that this had been an aggressive attack of mortal mind. Our teacher might whisper loudly into the microphone, “It’s a.m.” And I knew it. 

It took me several days to focus more on the treatment than the pain. When I finally did, I turned to Skip’s article “Is animal magnetism old-fashioned?” (Journal, July 1988), and the healing came. Periodically some pain returned, and several times I found myself being reminded that first, there wasn’t a real accident with injured tissue to re-inflame, and second, animal magnetism didn’t have a “memory” of injury to re-present.

It’s Science that heals, because God is. And it’s Skip’s articles that remind us of this, over and over.

My Truth-filled consciousness is my citadel

Question 1: Share a physical healing or healings in which reading one or more of Skip’s articles played an important part in your own spiritual study and prayer and ultimate healing.

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I awakened one night recently with a sense of vertigo, a recurring problem from a couple years ago. I prayed with the thought that the seeming problem was aggressive mental suggestion, outside of my consciousness and not real.

I went to my office, where the notebooks with Skip’s articles are stored. Picking a notebook at random, I found an editorial entitled “The consciousness that heals” (Journal, November 1987).

These words stood out: “The answer that seems so important to think about today is to stop supposing we have a mortal mind that can be spoiled or invaded or pervaded….But we’re not stuck with this mortal mind. Our actual consciousness includes tremendous conviction and natural apprehension of spiritual reality. Our consciousness is the reflection, or expression, of this one Mind.”

I was glad to see that I was on the right track about aggressive mental suggestion, and Skip’s editorial expanded on the idea beautifully. My actual consciousness never heard of vertigo, neither could it experience vertigo. My Truth-filled consciousness is my safe place, my citadel. God annihilated, obliterated, and eliminated the aggressive mental suggestion of vertigo.

I had been working on some writing, which was kind of limping along. Not surprisingly, the next days saw considerable energy and good ideas flowing from my Truth-infused thought.

Release from fear

Question 2: Share a testimony other than physical healing in which reading one or more of Skip’s articles had played an important part in your own spiritual study and prayer and final demonstration.

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I so cherish Skip’s direct and simple statements that cut to the heart of Christian Science practice and healing. They remind us that demonstration is not complicated, but simply the result of dedicated service to Truth.

Skip certainly addressed the issue of fear many times in his articles. In “No ‘good reasons’ for fear” (Sentinel, June 22, 1987), he reminds us, “There is a rule about fear in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. It says that every Christian Science treatment—that is, specific healing prayer—should begin with obedience to Christ Jesus’ command ‘Be not afraid’” (Science and Health, 410:29–30). This article has been helpful to me personally and when I have needed to explain fear to a young child.

I have also been supported in this release from fear by a short statement by Mrs. Eddy that I found on a placard during a tour of her Swampscott home: “Do right and fear not.” Mrs. Eddy made this comment at a meeting of the Christian Scientist Association, as reported in the November 1886 Christian Science Journal, noting that this is “the key-note of Christian Science.”

This simple phrase provides the foundation for all action. Doing right provides us with a standard of courage which, if we employ it, protects us from harm and announces to the world the true sense of being—man made in Spirit, not matter.

One of my favorite Bible stories is that of David and Goliath. As young David faced the giant Goliath, he had no body armor, only his sling and stones. But he did not hesitate. Instead of cautiously approaching the giant, the Bible tells us David rushed forward to meet Goliath, and soon destroyed him. What an example of courage! Courage not formed from foolish bravado, but courage born of the knowledge of God’s unlimited and universally available power. We all have that capacity for courage and, when exercised in the right way, can prevail over every “Goliath” we might encounter.

The first step in church repairs

Question 2: Share a testimony other than physical healing in which reading one or more of Skip’s articles had played an important part in your own spiritual study and prayer and final demonstration.

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Some years ago, I was asked to be on the building and grounds committee of my church. The committee was working on a number of building-related issues, but the largest project was to replace the whole heating system. The existing steam-based system had been problematic for many years; each heating season, one member had to spend quite a bit of time draining the system and purging the lines. The membership was united in feeling that a lower maintenance system was in order and had raised nearly $200,000 to cover the anticipated cost.

While there were months of meetings with contractors who recommended mechanical solutions to the problem, the real work was metaphysical. I was pleased to see this work as part of my practice. I worked specifically with Skip’s article “The first step” (Journal, January 1991). 

Then one contractor who had examined the heating system recommended fixing some misconfigurations in the system instead of replacing the boilers. We were dumb-founded. The committee had been working on the heating system for three years and no one had ever suggested there was a misconfiguration. The committee changed direction and made the changes the contractor proposed. 

That wasn’t quite all it took. The system still had a tendency to ingest too much water and then shoot 40 gallons of water out an overflow. Again, more prayer. And again, a remarkable solution was discovered: Because we had a two-zone steam system instead of a single-zone system, a vacuum was forming. Once a vacuum-breaker was installed, a problem of 20 years’ standing was solved. 

When we were done, the total cost of the work was less than half the budgeted amount. But the best part was that the entire committee saw that Mind—not a “smart” contractor—had solved the problem. I’m very grateful, not only for finding the solution, but also for the way in which it was seen by the committee and our whole branch church.

A much larger sense of God

Question 3: Share a transforming experience like Saul to Paul which came about reading Skip’s article(s).

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A major transition in my life came from hearing, relistening to, and absorbing the message of the Sentinel radio program, “Why believe in God?” (Sentinel Radio Edition, Program 807, February 16, 2008). In this program, Skip declares, “the larger your sense of God, the smaller the sense of your problem.” While this program played an important role in the healing of a 30-year problem, the whole idea of what we fill thought with, and that God needs to be more of it, was new to me. 

I first heard this program around 2014, soon after JSH-online became a resource. At the time, I had been experiencing the symptoms of an ear infection since eighth grade. The problem was rarely painful, but would drain almost every day. I had worked with practitioners, especially as a teenager, but much of this was my effort to out-source the healing work to the practitioner so that my day-to-day life in matter would go more smoothly. My search for healing was sincere, in that I really wanted to be rid of the symptoms, but I wasn’t looking for transformation. 

Over the years, I started thinking that Gideon’s approach of making a deal with God was a thoughtful approach: Dear God, it’s me. I’ve seen cool healings in my family before, so I know that Christian healing is possible. If I could be healed of this situation, I promise I’d believe in you forever.

As a young man, I began to look for skeletons in my thinking: Christian Science teaches that it’s what’s in our thinking that makes us sick, so what exactly is it that is making me sick? Is it a bad thought I had? Do I need to think better about someone in particular? Then for a number of years I thought that ignoring the problem was quasi-consistent with Science, in that you’re not “looking deeply into matter.”

There had been slow growth in my understanding of Christian Science, but what transformed my understanding was the new-old idea that God is All. What resonated with me was Skip’s statement in that radio program, “the larger your sense of God, the smaller the sense of your problem.”

Of course, it was not just the words that changed me. It was thinking about the boundless depth of that message. While one could scream from the rooftops that God is All – literally EVERYTHING—it’s not loud words that impart the allness of Spirit. I saw that Science wasn’t relying on a tough-upper-lip or hard-work-pays-off mentality. It was so much more than being able to repeat the First Commandment, more than rehearsing the words of a prayer at night. 

Soon thereafter, the infection of the ear dried up. But the full healing required going deeper, unseeing all of the rather ridiculous assumptions in my early years, and knowing that God’s allness isn’t something you can refer to in rattled-off definitions. It is something to be seen in every corner of each day—how we view the world, politics, branch church membership, finances, how we invest our time, and so much more. If it’s worth thinking about, it pertains to God. 

Today with every challenge I face, I notice the underlying argument that God is somehow less than all. But as we have been taught, God is, in-fact, All. That truth applies to the smallest argument, such as, “I feel tired this morning,” up to the largest, such as, “There doesn’t seem to be anything we can do about global warming.” What we have been given as Christian Scientists is the unshakable certainty of God’s goodness and allness. And it is a Saul to Paul concept whenever and wherever we receive it.

Not “too metaphysical” for my friend’s little dog

Question 1: Share a physical healing or healings in which reading one or more of Skip’s articles played an important part in your own spiritual study and prayer and ultimate healing.

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One recurring theme in Skip’s writings is the need to engage in unselfing, to refrain from trying to demonstrate Christian Science from the basis of a mortal selfhood attempting to understand the Divine. In his article “Who knows enough to heal?” (Journal, May 1984), Skip addresses the title question: “The reason the question is so prevalent is that it’s the perennial question of a mind that believes it resides in matter….The thousand and one doubts [mortal mind] dreams up as to whether one knows enough to heal, all have their basis in the mistaken belief that one’s selfhood is an independent entity which lives and has its being in a matter world. This so-called ‘I’ or entity is inevitably unaware of what God is and what God is doing. It lives with its own very dim view of spiritual reality, and therefore it frequently doubts whether it knows enough to heal.”

This passage gave me a new understanding of how to “pray without ceasing.” After all, mortal mind never intends for anyone to actually “arrive”! If I truly want to get there, I must claim my current and permanent residence in the kingdom of heaven. Thought needs to stay on God no matter what, whether reading the Bible lesson, brushing my teeth, making dinner, or driving a car. This has been a major transformation for me. To the extent that spiritual sense is engaged toward God’s presence, the false evidence of a mortal not quite grasping the Divine has been eliminated. Healing has become more natural.

One small example of the effect of keeping spiritual sense focused on God occurred last summer during an extreme heatwave. A friend and I were chatting by video, when he told me that his little chihuahua dog was struggling with the heat. She had not eaten for more than a day, and her skin had become quite red and warm to the touch. She had been extremely restless, constantly moving around in great agitation and discomfort. Then he pointed his phone toward the dog. In my work as a Christian Science nurse, I had never seen such incessant movement before.

My friend is not a Christian Scientist and knows very little about it, so I thought we could start with some practical care, such as cooling his dog with a cold washcloth. Her red skin started to lighten to pink, but her agitated movement didn’t stop.

Then I asked him if he wanted me to pray for her. I assured him that he was free to take her to a vet if he preferred to do so, but he said he wanted me to pray. I talked to him about God as the little dog’s creator and the dog’s perfection. We discussed God’s love for the little dog, and how God had never desired any disease, discomfort, or distress for her. God was always protecting His little ones, so heat could not harm her. Then we ended our phone call. I continued treatment that night and during the morning.

When I called my friend the next day, he said his little dog was still very agitated. He had bought some more appetizing food for her, but that she had not touched it. Later in the morning he needed to do some errands. When he returned, he found that all the food he had left for his dog had been eaten. She had licked the bowl clean! Also, his dog had stopped her restless activity, and her skin was normal and cool to the touch. Now she was curled up and sleeping peacefully next to him. My friend was elated! We both gave thanks to God.

Although the hot weather continued, the symptoms did not recur. Since his dog was healed, my friend has attended some Christian Science services and has been touched by them!

In his article, “Infinite good—the dawning and the meridian” (Journal, October 2016), Skip explains, “Christian Science shows that despite the human, mortal mind’s stubborn imagining to the contrary, it is possible to know spiritual reality or what Christ Jesus called the kingdom of heaven. It’s not at all ‘too high,’ too metaphysical. In fact, it’s already here within us, as Jesus said.”

Seeing my brother and his wife scientifically

Question 2: Share a testimony other than physical healing in which reading one or more of Skip’s articles had played an important part in your own spiritual study and prayer and final demonstration.

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For a long time, I was estranged from one of my brothers and his wife because of something they’d done to another member of the family that I perceived to be selfish, unjust, and harmful. Although I didn’t plan it that way, I didn’t speak with them for a period of years. 

As I saw the situation, the obvious problem in our relationship was my brother’s wife, who seemed antagonistic to everything. During family gatherings, she’d find ways to introduce her unpleasant opinions into conversations. Often, we’d spend hours trying to coax her off the acrimonious ledge she chose to perch herself on, but to no avail. Eventually we’d just give up and go our separate ways.

Although my self-imposed hiatus from my brother and his wife could be justified in a court of human opinion, I knew that my thought about them was wrong, and eventually my position began to soften. I regretted erecting a barrier between us. 

As I pondered the situation in Christian Science, I remembered this pertinent excerpt from our teacher’s article “Seeing others scientifically” (Journal, October 1987): “A personal assessment is a poor, vague guide to knowing our fellowman. Mary Baker Eddy writes: ‘I earnestly advise all Christian Scientists to remove from their observation or study the personal sense of any one and not to dwell in thought upon their own or others’ corporeality, either as good or evil. According to Christian Science, material personality is an error in premise, and must result in erroneous conclusions.’” 

His article “Lessons from the movies” (Sentinel, April 27, 1987) also came to mind. In it he says, “there’s a wonderful scene in an American movie called Places in the Heart….At the end it shows most of the characters in the film sitting in church. Actually, as the camera slowly pans over the pews, we realize that everyone from the story is there. Each one seems full of light and a pure, luminous love. Even those who have been enemies, those who have harmed and misused each other. And even those who have passed on are all there worshipping God, good, together. As a Christian Scientist might describe it, something of their true selves is finally being seen in the light of Christ, the spiritual idea.” 

As I prayed about my situation, I began to dismiss the human history and listen for God’s direction on how to put this rift behind us. One day this Bible passage jumped out at me: “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1).

As I thought about the last part of that verse, I was reasonably sure I would never be tempted to do anything like what my brother and his wife had done. Then it hit me that I’d already been tempted by seeing them as bad actors. I was giving evil a voice, a presence, and a power it didn’t have, and denying God’s all presence and power. I’d also allowed myself to be sucked into a vortex of self-righteousness. It became clear that to “restore such an one in the spirit of meekness” was to restore the fact of God’s allness in my own thinking and in humility recognize all three of us as His perfect spiritual ideas, incapable of going off the rails. 

An opportunity to put our relationship back on the right track soon presented itself. My brother, who is not a Christian Scientist, needed a medical procedure that was not available where he lived, but was available where I live. He and his wife needed my help getting to and from the hospital, so we found ourselves working together to plan their trip. 

During this time, I exchanged emails with my brother’s wife and had several long phone conversations with her. Things were different now. I saw spiritual qualities in her that had completely eluded me before: diligence, strength of character, intelligence, a genuine love for my brother, and a knack for organization, research, and planning. She also listened to what I had to say, and I listened to what she had to say. My brother eventually made three trips to complete this procedure. All three visits featured harmonious, even enjoyable, interactions.

Last week I visited them in their home and took them to lunch. We had a great time together.

These sentences from “Seeing others scientifically” sum up my experience perfectly: “Persisting in a scientific view of others, we’ll spend far less time in analyzing and lamenting personal weaknesses and peccadilloes or feeling injured by them. We’ll understand that everyone is necessarily emerging from the dream of being a fallible, imperfect mortal. Each one of us is engaged in the effort to rise into spiritual realization that our individuality is wholly the reflection of God, expressing only His goodness and excellence….The one Mind and one Love, which is the only reality of being, produces in man, and as man, perfect unity and complementarity. No idea of God encroaches on another. Every idea is needed and is equally valued by the Father. And it is the very nature of these ideas to be perfectly related at every point, to express the harmony that is the divine reality of being” (Journal, October 1987).

No human circumstance can separate us from Love

Question 2: Share a testimony other than physical healing in which reading one or more of Skip’s articles had played an important part in your own spiritual study and prayer and final demonstration.

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During the pandemic, my friends and family handled the isolation and separation from other people in different ways. Some seemed ok with it. For others, it seemed like solitary confinement or “cabin fever” at its worst, and almost every moment of the day was challenging. It was hard to figure out how to comfort them and relieve the pressure of needing to be around others.

In Skip’s article called “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: Its Impact on Religion” (Journal, December 1975), he writes about Mrs. Eddy starting with God and “letting Mind itself give the understanding of God.” After reading Skip’s article, it became clear that I could pray to see that everyone is cared for by God, even if they didn’t live close to each other or do a good job of keeping in touch. I felt comforted knowing that God was the one responsible for taking care of others. No human circumstance or location can make us feel separated from Life or Love. Because of that, we cannot really be separated from others, either.

Fearlessly trusting each other’s development to God

Question 2: Share a testimony other than physical healing in which reading one or more of Skip’s articles had played an important part in your own spiritual study and prayer and final demonstration.

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Sometimes the temptation to feel dissatisfied with my failure to meet the desires of my wife has tempted me to feel disheartened. This idea from “What can you do about marriage?” (Sentinel, June 9, 1986) has been very helpful: “From divine Spirit, Soul, flows out a sense of fulfillment, of love and spiritual joy, that is unmatched. We learn that this can light up even apparently bleak circumstances. Soul, not favorable circumstances, is what we most need—and also what we always have.”

Knowing that I am not the source of fulfilment for my wife, and vice versa, is a deeply liberating understanding of the way life works. It has prevented heavy feelings from progressing, and led me to seek more deeply for God as the true source of fulfilment. In tangible ways, this understanding has brought both of us deeper enjoyment in being married.

My wife and I also noticed a tendency to correct each other. This correction was usually about mundane, day-to-day things, and often came in the form of metaphysical reasoning. As we both prayed, we realised that we could avoid these tense and unnecessary conversations by fearlessly trusting each other’s development to God. The idea that there really is only one Mind is so persistently denied by mortal minds—always insisting that there are, of course, many minds. As I’ve stuck with seeing there is just one Mind, trust and love again defines the majority of our conversations and interactions.

Another lesson from this experience has been the importance of not “talking metaphysics,” but inwardly demanding ourselves to see it and be it. This keeps us clear from the human opinions that would try to assert themselves.

My relationship to God alone

Question 3: Share a transforming experience like Saul to Paul which came about reading Skip’s article(s).

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When working with other church members, I have sometimes gotten the notion that the words of Christian Science don’t mean the same thing to everyone. In his article “‘Just words’?…Don’t believe it!” (Sentinel, February 17, 1986), Skip writes, “[Mrs. Eddy] knew that no human language actually contains the infinity and holiness of divine Being, of God, Spirit.”

There are many other articles where Skip talks about God alone being the first priority in our lives. Therefore, each person’s relationship with God alone is very important, both inside and outside of church. Not to say that church isn’t important, but it has reinforced the thought that God is close to me and directing me in all aspects of life. As Mrs. Eddy says, “The Christian Scientist is alone with his own being and with the reality of things” (Message ’01, 20:8–9).

The Truth empowers us

Question 3: Share a transforming experience like Saul to Paul which came about reading Skip’s article(s).

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Skip’s articles “How much do you know of Christian Science?” (Sentinel, September 8, 2014) and “Not two but one” (Journal, February 1986) have been very helpful in my work as a Christian Science nurse.

When I first started nursing, I knew intellectually that I must let Love, divine Principle, define my ministry—that it wasn’t my ministry, but God’s. Yet I seemed to keep getting in the way. Sometimes I would outline how I thought a healing should be progressing. At other times, my activities to help one person would get me off track, so I was not punctual in meeting another’s needs. Sometimes I wanted to help someone wake up to what was available to them in Science and Health, not a bad idea in its own right, but the way I pursued it was too fearful.

Skip’s articles have helped me get things the right way up. I have matured in my understanding that we don’t have to empower the Truth, but the Truth empowers us. To reflect does not mean to have Truth go into us and then shine out by some personal effort. Instead, we witness what God is doing with man, how God uses man for his purposes.

Outwardly, I have become more faithful in trusting each person I am looking after to God and feeling a sense of peace, rather than clinging to a false sense of personal responsibility. This is still a work in progress—sometimes the old habits of thought try to reassert themselves, but I know that the clearer view I am gaining will win, because the Truth is impelling me forward.

Over the past months, I have been working to behold the perfect man right where the senses are saying man is sinning and sick. My almost constant prayer while ministering has been, “Open Thou mine eyes, that I may see.” There have been situations where I’ve felt fear and uncertainty as to whether a patient’s need will be met. But many times, I’ve witnessed beautiful moments when needs were met precisely and completely. Love has been expressed and gratefully received in abundant and practical ways. This has been a great lesson to me in feeling deeper faith in God’s ability to comfort and uplift even the darkest corners of human experience.

Choosing the true view of life

Question 1: Share a physical healing or healings in which reading one or more of Skip’s articles played an important part in your own spiritual study and prayer and ultimate healing.

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Quite a few years ago, I was playing touch football with a few friends. As I was playing, I put weight on my foot in an odd way and did something that threatened to put an end to my participation. Since there were very few players, it was going to make a huge difference if I had to sit out. While I considered what to do, a clear and inspirational idea I learned from Skip’s instruction came to me. I have two ways to see this situation: the obvious physical picture of accident and injury, which seems most real to the human senses, or the true view, that I am spiritual and whole, which is what is really going on.

I took hold of that true view of life, and that was the end of the problem. It vanished as quickly as it came, and I continued to play without further incident. I was most grateful for that simple, yet affirming, resolution to this seeming imposition.

Starting from a “higher standpoint”

Question 1: Share a physical healing or healings in which reading one or more of Skip’s articles played an important part in your own spiritual study and prayer and ultimate healing.

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While I was in the process of reading Mr. Phinney’s articles, my daughter called for metaphysical support about a challenge she had to meet. I remember sharing with her ideas from the article entitled “‘Above all that we ask or think’” (Sentinel, December 26, 2016). In reference to the phrase in this title, Mr. Phinney writes, “It serves as a potent reminder to stop thinking about what I’m trying to accomplish with my prayer or treatment and have more of what God is already doing. I find those few words bringing me home to the basic spiritual fact that there is something far greater and more essential always available than the human mind’s impressions of whether it knows enough or is inspired enough.”

He ends this article by asking two vital questions that, when answered in the affirmative, bring tangible healing: “Are we today actually drawing on the vast resources of limitless divine grace and infinite Love that are behind Christ Jesus’ teaching and works, and that bring such astounding newness and power for change? Are we starting from the “higher standpoint” of the revelation of one divine Mind that will impart the consciousness of Truth and abundant spiritual understanding beyond anything a mortal human mind can ask or think?”

As with other healings experienced by our family, the belief that had led my daughter to call for help disappeared “as naturally and as necessarily as darkness gives place to light and sin to reformation” (Science and Health, xi:12–14). After being absent for several days, my daughter was able to return to work, buoyed by the proof she had witnessed of divine Love’s care.

Waking up to the true spirit of Christmas

Question 2: Share a testimony other than physical healing in which reading one or more of Skip’s articles had played an important part in your own spiritual study and prayer and final demonstration.

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A relationship with a friend seemed to have deteriorated during the many months of “lockdown,” when we relied on texts and emails to stay in touch. Our digital exchanges seemed to become far more complicated than they needed to be, and we finally reached a point where we simply stopped communicating altogether. Although reconciliation did not seem possible from a limited human viewpoint, I continued to cherish all the good our families had shared while our children were growing up, and trusted that God would lead the way.

We seemed at an impasse until shortly after Christmas, when Mr. Phinney’s article “Finding the heart, the spirit, and the Soul of Christmas” (Journal, December 2017) caught my attention. It was certainly a wake-up call that illuminated “the true spirit of Christmas” and challenged me to let go of any personal sense of love for my friend. The article reminded me that, “As Christian Scientists, we are growing in the understanding that Christmas is about love and its limitless source—the divine love just referred to as the ‘love of Christ.’ Christmas becomes to us something that doesn’t disappear after a day….Letting go of the false impression that Christmas is about a fragile, fleeting spirit of love that we’re personally hoping to hold on to, we learn more and more of the true dimensions of Christmas as the dawning on us of divine Love.

And we go on finding the continual joy and evidence of all that God is and does.” After reading this article, I felt led to reach out to my friend via text and received a warm response. This prompted a phone conversation and later an in-person meeting. We have since found other occasions to meet, including a recent invite to the Good Friday service at her family’s church. Reflecting on this experience, these words from Hymn 51 came to thought:

“God could not make imperfect man/ HIs model infinite;/ Unhallowed thought He could not plan,/ Love’s work and Love must fit./ Life, Truth and Love the pattern make,/ Christ is the perfect heir;/ The clouds of sense roll back, and show/ The form divinely fair.”

A lesson in obedience

Question 2: Share a testimony other than physical healing in which reading one or more of Skip’s articles had played an important part in your own spiritual study and prayer and final demonstration.

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I was working in a new department at a college where I had taught for many years. The course material was not new to me, as I had taught it in other departments. I taught that particular material differently from the other instructors in my new department because we all had different backgrounds, focuses, and teaching methods. 

Out of the blue, I received a very curt email from the coordinator telling me not to change any of the assignments or marking schemes. This was most upsetting because throughout my college teaching career I had been permitted, even encouraged, to teach in the manner that seemed to me to be the most useful and practical. I didn’t sleep much that night because I wasquite aware that this coordinator would decide which courses I taught in the future. I was praying to see the evidence of one Mind, which included my trying to be obedient, not headstrong. It was humbling to follow the predetermined course to the best of my ability. It was also educational, because it allowed me to re-evaluate some of my own teaching approaches and see places where improvements could be made.

This year I got another email questioning my curriculum. I was grateful that I had been led to closely follow the course as it had been set out, so I could assure the coordinator of that. 

The final step to this healing came in a recent awards meeting when we were displaying the work of some of our best students. The coordinator saw that I was doing something that was different from the other instructors, and he stated, “I’m going to do that next year.” It may seem like a very small thing, but was a large comfort to me and carried with it a sense of healing.

Keeping me on the upward path

Question 3: Share a transforming experience like Saul to Paul which came about reading Skip’s article(s).

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In terms of Saul-to-Paul type transformation, Mr. Phinney’s articles of encouragement and my class notes have, at times, bolstered me when those familiar, discordant partners—discouragement and doubt—have tried to sneak in and stand in the way of spiritual progress and a sense of goodness and brotherly kindness. I am most grateful for the ways in which Mr. Phinney’s teaching and articles have aided in keeping me on the path, leading me onward and upward.