She was bowed down....

I actually had this experience yesterday on campus.

Two of my 'grands' take the bus to St. Louis to attend the Lower School at Principia. I meet them coming back to Elsah every afternoon at 4:30. Yesterday I arrived early, prompted by some angel message to be there sooner. When I walked to the flag pole area I saw a student sitting on one of the benches. She has hunched over and seemed to be in distress. I sat beside her and asked if she would like some company.

She was distraught about how things were going in this fourth week of classes, unhappy with the work load and not getting her assignments done on time. This girl had always been an "A" student and now she was getting "C"s. At first she could hardly lift up her head and tears were dripping onto the sidewalk. But as we talked, and I shared some thoughts that came to me a I prayed, she was able to speak more freely.

The others who were arriving to meet students started to come over to say hello. We are a friendly bunch and usually get into conversations. But when they saw what we happening each one stepped aside and I could see that they too were praying.

The bus arrived and slowly the crowd of excited children and adults thinned out. I stayed with her until she felt she could go back to her dorm. When I got home I sent her an email with some other things to work with.

This morning I got an email back that was filled with light and joy. I had no doubt that she was 'straightened up' and ready to continue on with renewed enthusiasm and an expectation of good.

It fit so nicely with the incident in this week's Bible Lesson about the woman bowed down with a 'spirit of infirmity' who 'could in no wise lift up herself'. Jesus saw and stepped right in to offer the assurance that she was loosed from that claim. And she was.

I love what Mrs. Eddy writes about being 'bowed down'.  "We bow down to matter, and entertain finite thoughts of God like a pagan idolater". The paragraph heading is "Idolatrous illusions". And that is all we deal with, illusions that would suggest we are on our own and unable to overcome some 'spirit of infirmity', some attempt to limit us mentally or physically.  Elsewhere Mrs. Eddy writes about God's child as 'including all right ideas' and 'that which has no separate mind from God', with 'not a single quality underived from Deity'".  As we talked and exchanged emails we were affirming her divine right to those 'right ideas' available whenever she needed them. The Christ was just as accessible to her as to that woman.

Just another in the long list of reasons why I love Christian Science and am so grateful to see it in operation today just as effectively as it was back in Jesus' time.