by Ashley Niles
I remember as a little child going to a Christian Science nursing facility to get a cut on my hand cleaned and bandaged. That was my first experience I can recall with a Christian Science nurse.
My second experience a couple decades later was when I went to attend a youth summit and sat in on a discussion group about being in the practice. There was a Christian Science practitioner as well as a Christian Science nurse speaking. That was where the thought came to me that Christian Science nursing might be something I was interested in doing. So I picked up the pamphlet entitled, “To Be a Christian Science Nurse” so I could read more about this position.
When I got home I read through the pamphlet but over time forgot about Christian Science nursing. It was about five years later I found that pamphlet on Christian Science nursing and read through it again. At that time I was working new construction as an electrical apprentice. I was having a difficult time with the men on the job site as I was the only woman on the entire site. Crude comments, inappropriate language, discussing immoral behavior was what I was having to be around all day. It started to wear on me and I wanted out of the situation, but as I stopped myself, I realized something: I was having trouble finding satisfaction in any work I was doing, which ended up with me having a high turn-over rate in jobs. Every time I’d get tired or frustrated with my current employment, I’d start seeking a new line of work.
Being raised in Christian Science I knew I could turn to God in prayer for answers on what to do. But if I’m honest, I didn’t really know what it meant to pray or how to pray. I knew one thing though, I wanted to help people, and I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself. So I started searching for jobs that might fulfill that desire. The first thing that came to my thought was Christian Science nursing. I have heard of people saying God has spoken to them in a very clear voice. Well I don’t recall ever hearing God speak to me in a very clear and distinctive voice until this one day after a very challenging day at work. I heard: “Ashley, how could you even consider being a Christian Science nurse if you can’t even heal this situation on your job site with these men you work with.”
Wait, what?
I feel that clear message to me was the beginning of my Christian Science nurse training. I got to work to see these men I worked with as Jesus would have seen them. In about a week, there was a complete change in behavior on the job site. There were no more crude comments towards me, and the inappropriate language dwindled. There was mutual respect on the job site, and I honestly started to care deeply for each and every one of those men.
Once that healing occurred and things were going great at work and I started to make an effort to pray daily, I woke up one morning with God telling me it was time for me to take Christian Science class instruction. Now, I knew at some point in my life I’d probably take this two-week course, but I hadn’t expected that thought at this particular moment. I guess that is what happens when you get self out of the way and let God lead! Since that healing on the job site, I decided it would be good if I listened to God and did what I was told to do.
I honestly had no clue how things were going to work out. Two weeks off work in the middle of my electrical school was not advised as I could fall very far behind the rest of the class. But I believed God had my best interest so I started looking for a Christian Science teacher who had not already taught a class that year.
My experience finding a teacher was via God’s shepherding. I struggled for weeks to pick the right teacher because you only get one! Oh my gosh, how was I to know who would be the right teacher for me? I had a list of four names, and I talked with all but one. That one teacher that I had decided to cross off my list (to narrow it down to three) ended up being my teacher for Christian Science class instruction. It goes to show me that my personal wants or opinions are not always what is best for me. God kept me on His path, not my human will. I believe that is because deep down I was open and receptive to God’s guidance and willing to follow what I felt was right. So a couple months later, off I went to class instruction—two whole weeks learning how to pray! Remember, I hadn’t really understood what it meant to pray or how to pray. Well, I was lead to the right teacher, and I learned!
I think it was the second or third day of class that I knew I wasn’t going to be going back to my job as an electrical apprentice when I returned home. I again read through that pamphlet “To Be a Christian Science Nurse,” but this time I knew I was ready and willing to do this work. Was I scared? I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little. I had no clue how things were going to unfold, I had no clue how I was going to afford to pay my bills while I worked out how to go through training for Christian Science nursing or how I would afford to pay for the training.
With my new understanding of how to pray about difficulties we all face, I got to work to gain a better understanding of what it really meant to trust God fully.
As I started looking into training programs and trying to pick the right one, I was given a very wonderful idea from a practitioner to think about. I had Christian Science class instruction, and that is the most important training for being in the practice. That is the basis of my Christian Science nursing ministry. Everything else, all the practical care, will be harmoniously administered as I stand on the rock of Christ.
Like picking a teacher, I made a list of four places, and again, the first place I crossed off ended up being where I began my first level of Christian Science Nurses training. You think I would have learned from my first experience of trying to figure it out for myself. I guess sometimes we have to go through things a couple times before it really is clear that trusting God’s path for us is always the best.
The harmonious unfoldment of this first part of my training was so exciting to witness. Here’s a quick look: Two weeks class instruction, finished my last two weeks at my job, two weeks spent packing up my apartment and putting everything I didn’t need with me while I was gone for training in storage, went to my first Association the following weekend, and then started my nurses training that following Monday. It sounds jam-packed, but it flowed so smoothly. Needless to say, it was pretty cool to experience!
After about five months and lots of praying about what was next, I started looking into the next level of training for Christian Science nursing. This led me to Fern Lodge, in Castro Valley, California. Again it was a seamless transition to the next phase of my training. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be there, but I was learning what it meant to trust God fully through these experiences.
I will mention that I struggled daily with fears that would come up—mostly fears about finances. I worked daily at handling those fears through prayer to gain a spiritual view of supply and to know that I will have what I need when I need it. I found that this requires an understanding of trusting God fully. Even though I had struggles, they were always corrected as I gained a stronger spiritual view of Life and supply. I just had to keep working and studying to understand God’s supply better and to remove the fear that I couldn’t make a living being a Christian Science nurse with only one income.
I proved over and over through my training time that the lie or fear of not having enough money has no basis or truth in my life. I always had the supply I needed to take care of my financial responsibilities.
After a little over a month at Fern Lodge, I felt the need to head back home. At this point I had been gone from home for Christian Science nurse training for about seven months. When I returned home, there was a need for a private duty Christian Science nurse in my home town. I knew that was the work of God again putting me right where I needed to be, and where I would be the most helpful. And I was willing to listen and be led.
Later that summer, I was able to set up a mentorship with a Journal-listed nurse at one of the Christian Science Youth Camps to get experience working with children as a Christian Science nurse.
Since I started nursing full time in the fall of 2013, I have not experienced any lack in my life. I have always been provided with what I needed at the time I needed it and I have much gratitude for that law of God in my life. It is the first career I’ve had where I feel completely satisfied! I have the opportunity to daily assist and support my fellow man while being a part of a movement that is bigger than myself, a movement that will bless all mankind.
In December of 2014, I applied for my Journal-listing, and in January 2015, I was accepted into The Christian Science Journal.
I think the important thing to remember is that we each are listening for God’s guidance in our individual lives. The beautiful thing is that there are many different opportunities to get the practical training for Christian Science Nursing. This was an opportunity for me to listen for what God has planned for me. And sometimes it surprised me where I was led to be. But when I finally understood what it really meant to trust God fully, the blessings and the opportunities came into my life abundantly.
Love and Gratitude,
Ashley Niles[:]