Recently, I was on a walk through the woods — a favorite part of my day — and I was struck with awe. The way the light shines, the color of a leaf, the sparkle of the snow. These are little moments of awe and wonder. Sometimes I pause for these moments — and I’m learning to pause more and more, to slow down, and really allow myself to take in the inspiration and beauty of the moment.
O longing hearts that wait on God
Through all the world so wide;
He knows the angels that you need,
And sends them to your side,
To comfort, guard and guide. –Violet Hay
If you are anything like me, you relish these moments, too! These moments are full of inspiration — a feeling, an intuition, a connection with God. They heal. Pause. Breathe. Feel God’s presence and love. Give gratitude. Smile.
Sometimes when it’s dark and cold outside, it’s hard to feel God’s love and presence in our lives. But we can still look for evidence of God’s grace and beauty all around us.
I was reminded by a post on a discussion forum of the normal childlikeness that has been restored to me through my study of Christian Science.
One of Jesus Christ’s radical acts and statements is to be childlike.
This may seem contrary to what the world tells us about needing to be cynical, judgemental, analytical and critical. I haven’t met many children expressing those qualities! Have you? 🙂 So isn’t Jesus telling us that childlike qualities are a natural part of adults (politicians, school teachers, Olympians), too?
In my practice of Christian Science healing, I see children have such quick physical and emotional healings. They are so receptive and quick to change their thinking from bad to good about any situation. They have such an inherent sense of the goodness of the universe, before they are taught otherwise, that tells them that goodness is natural to their experience.
“Children should be allowed to remain children in knowledge, and should become men and women only through growth in the understanding of man’s higher nature.” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 62)
Some teenagers fall into the temptation of depression, cynicism and despair. It seems like the light, innocence and happiness disappear from their experience.
But my own experience has taught me that those spiritual attributes – the spiritual sense of being which involves hope, faith and love – are never lost. It’s like a dark cloud is covering up these beautiful qualities, but, just like the sun, these natural good qualities are still there, always shining brightly even if we can’t see them for the moment.
I re-discovered my relationship with God and what it means to be a child made in the image and likeness of my Father/Mother God in my twenties. There was a lot of darkness that had taken root in my thought in my teens and had lasted for several years. The darkness would mock the light shining around me and continue to hide in its false self-perpetuated existence.
God had always told me there was another way, and, finally, a deeper sense that I had the right to be free as God’s child broke through. I was inspired to read the 4 gospels in the New Testament straight through, which I hadn’t done before, along with Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. I admired the fearlessness of Jesus Christ, and I wanted that fearlessness for my own life, too. And I was comforted to read from the discover and founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, that the works that Jesus did and taught others, which enable one to be fearless, are still possible and happening today.
She echoes the Biblical sentiment here: “Christian scientific practice begins with Christ’s keynote of harmony, ‘Be not afraid!'”
What a relief! Through consistent spiritual study of the Bible and the texts of Christian Science, the darkness vanished from my thought.
When the light shines in our consciousness, the darkness disappears. I know we have all seen examples of this in our experience. I’m just so grateful that this Truth is true. 🙂
The way the light shines, the color of a leaf, the sparkle of the snow. These are little moments of awe and wonder. Sometimes I pause for these moments — and I’m learning to pause more and more, to slow down, and really allow myself to take in the inspiration and beauty of the moment.
Spirituality & Healing 