In the middle of difficult circumstances, it would be so reassuring to feel supported in our efforts for progress, instead of feeling alone. In this talk, I discuss what I’ve found helpful in my practice of Christian Science healing: that God loves us deeply, is an active presence of good in our lives, and provides fresh ideas about our spiritual nature that wipe away fear and reveal inspired solutions.  

By turning to God for help, we open up to divine ideas and feel the presence of God in tangible ways, ways that change our lives and our health for the better. I call this healing.

During the lecture, I explore God as Spirit, Love, and Mind, rather than as a man-like figure making arbitrary decisions about our lives. This divine Mind is the one source of all good and true ideas. So God’s thoughts remind us of our spiritual identity, guide us to express more love, and show us our divine intelligence.

I talk about Christ Jesus’ teachings in the Bible as being the best example of how to heal by listening to these ideas. And I delve into Mary Baker Eddy’s book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, as the explanation of Christian Science healing based on Christ Jesus’ life. I give examples of how this healing approach has transformed lives, including a mother and her infant daughter who experienced physical healing. The mother said, “It felt like the ideas themselves did the work.”

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Two influences on me that I’ll never forget were the Christian Science Sunday School and a mom who turned to prayer and encouraged me to do the same.  These influences showed me something of the reliability of God and spiritual inspiration, and trusting this helped me find my way growing up.  Significant healing experiences with relationship and food issues, and violence in the community, were also unforgettable.  From this, I got an idea of the many ways that Christian Science can transform lives.

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After finishing a doctorate in mathematics, I became a college professor and truly enjoyed teaching.  I found that teaching was less about telling students something than facilitating the students’ discoveries of new concepts.  There was nothing better than witnessing a reluctant student realize that a previously mystifying concept was actually within reach to anyone.

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But the higher promise of Christian Science beckoned me to help people redeem and uplift their lives in a fuller way.  When students came to my office for help with calculus, we often found ourselves talking about the joy and excitement of growing spirituality.  After just two years at the college, I resigned from my position and began accepting calls as a Christian Science practitioner. I wrote articles for the Christian Science periodicals, was a frequent guest on Sentinel radio, and began advertising my practice in The Christian Science Journal in 2004. My husband and I also started a family.

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These days I love working from my home office in the Los Angeles area.  I like to see lives transformed by the healing ideas of Christian Science, where we ourselves are helped and, at the same time, find we can help others.  My life as a mom has a lot of the same focus.  And whether the spiritual ideas apply to health issues, school, social lives, or sports, my three teenagers push me to “keep it real.”

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-Melanie Wahlberg, C.S.

Lake Forest, California