An emergency high-school lock-down occurred at the same time that a parent of one the students was visiting our church’s reading room and began receiving texts notifying and updating her of the situation. This all started as she had just sat down to ask a few questions about Christian Science. The reading room staff member was immediately able to comfort the parent’s fear and worry with, among other ideas, a direct quote from the Christian Science textbook which reads:
“Step by step will those who trust Him find that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Science and Health pg 444:10)
She left a short while after, confident and assured God was “a very present help.” That evening there was an arrest of an armed and disgruntled student, announced as the lead story on the local news, and no harm ever came to anyone.
Working further to enhance and equip this working-mom’s learning of CS to guide and heal her young children has enabled her to do some basic healing work on her own. Much progress was made on allaying acute fears through sharing basic Christianly Scientific truths to protect and defend her children all kinds of nagging colds, inflammations, fears and other youth-related challenges including excessive school health programs and, in this writer’s view, ridiculous dramatizations and education of youngsters about all sorts of diseases – including a “pink day” and “heart disease day” for 5th graders! Give me a break. Excuse me, give them a break! As the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science writes, “Think less of material conditions and more of spiritual” . . . ”and you will sooner grasp man's God-given dominion.”
Another helpful citation from the textbook has come up quite a bit in healing many situations – both mental and physical:
“Look away from the body into Truth and Love, the Principle of all happiness, harmony, and immortality” (from Science & Health pg. 260: 2 – 4).
It really begins at the beginning of the paragraph starting on pg. 260: 31. This is not a formula or “go-to” line but has shown up consistently through prayer and listening and it has been effective in handling a variety of concepts concerning the body: the physical body, the body politic, a body of work, the student body (in the case of the school lock-down and health scares), etc., etc.