Fern Lodge Focus — December 2021

Dear Friends,

The morning I prepared to write this letter, I read the Christian Science Bible Lesson. The subject was “God, the Only Cause and Creator.” The Bible verses included a story most of you know well. Christ Jesus was called to come quickly to the home of Jairus, an important leader in the community, who pleaded with the Master, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” And Jesus immediately went with Jairus.

But as they hurried through the crowded streets, a woman who had suffered for 12 years came and touched the Master’s clothes, because she had faith that touching his garment would heal her. And it did! Immediately she was whole. Now, the Master could easily have continued hurrying to Jairus’ daughter, as we might expect. But what did Jesus do? He stopped to talk with the woman, and to tell her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

Well, as Jesus was talking with the woman, the sad news came that Jairus’ daughter had died. But Jesus response was, “The child is not dead but sleeping.” And he continued to the house, put out the crowd of mourners, and with just the mother and father and three of his friends in the room, Jesus said, “Little girl, I say to you, arise,” and of course, she did.

This story is such a reassuring comfort to Christian Science nurses everywhere. We often are urgently called to come to a patient who is struggling, perhaps at the point of death. And often as we hurry to meet the immediate need, we meet others who implore us to help them. What are we to do?

Our question—our yearning to help and heal as the Master—demands that we be diligent disciples. As Christian Science nurses we must be earnest students. The sixth tenet of Christian Science requires our solemn promise to “pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus.”

With the Mind of Christ, we will be able to trust as Jesus did, knowing that God is right there with the patient we are hurrying to, and also with the one who wants our help on the way. And we will do as God directs, trusting that healing must follow the absolute, honest understanding of each individual as a whole child of our Father-Mother, Love.

We are daily, deeply grateful to our dear Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, for her tireless, loving work in seeking, understanding, and sharing with us all, the understanding that enables us to trust God in every situation.

With gratitude and affection,

George Strong,  Administrator