I remember the first time I called a Christian Science Practitioner on my own. I was 15 years old and it's safe to say, I was pretty anxious about it... "Will they talk to me for a long time, or hang up after a short while? Should I share the challenge with them, or do they not need to know about it? Will they judge me for my questions or what I share? Will this be awkward? Do I have to call them every day that I work with them? Will they lecture at me because I have a challenge?"
When the Practitioner picked up the phone, all of those thoughts melted away because all I felt was love. When I talk about love, I don’t really mean a human love-- As if the practitioner loved me with her own love even though I was a complete stranger. It was more that I felt this Practitioner had a pretty good sense of God’s love and as the Practitioner spoke to me, I felt included in that Love. It wasn’t the action of calling the Practitioner that made me feel loved, rather, it was what ideas she shared with me and the Love expressed in her voice.
Because I felt a sense of God’s love for me-- All of the concerns about the conversation being awkward fell away. The Practitioner also didn’t blame me for the challenge I was having. Rather, the Practitioner showed me that whatever I was experiencing was only erroneous, not really the real me. Since in Genesis 1, the Bible tells us that we were created to be “very good.” I felt that while I was on the phone. The Practitioner didn’t demean me or the problem, but we worked from the standpoint of how God sees me.
This idea of being “very good” took away any fear of being blamed for the challenge. I even thought it was silly that I worried so much initially about calling the Practitioner. I remember thinking, “That wasn’t bad at all! That was actually really nice…” That first phone call was the start to working with Practitioners. I started calling them often, about the big stuff, and the small stuff. I also found that the supply I needed was always there, because my motive was good and I knew that my supply was in God.
Today as a Christian Science Practitioner myself, I have heard all about people’s concerns when calling a Practitioner. A lot of them have been similar to the concerns I had when I was a teen. Similar to when we turn on a light in a room and the darkness flees, the fear goes away the moment we start praying and hearing about spiritual truths in Christian Science. For some, getting to the point where we send that first email or dial the first phone call, may be a struggle. But when we can get passed the fear or sneaky serpent (kind of like the one in Genesis 2) suggestion that this has to be an awkward thing, we can call Practitioners without a second thought. We find that we don’t have to let these suggestions hinder our progress or healing, since they really don’t belong to us anyways!
When considering calling a Practitioner, one can take a quiet moment to prayerfully consider who to call. As we do this, it’s helpful to know that there is a list of Practitioners in the back of the Christian Science Journal. As we prayerfully consider, we may feel led to call a certain Practitioner in one instance, and to use another other times. We may call someone new every time there is a need. Sometimes we may want to stick with one person consistently because they are familiar with you or the case. There isn’t really a right or wrong answer-- As long as we are listening for God’s direction every step of the way. It’s not always black and white and it may be case by case. Either way, you should do whatever makes you the most comfortable and whatever works best for you.
If you have any questions about the logistics about working with a Practitioner-- Generally a lot of the answers will be the same with any Practitioner. But, there are somethings that individual Practitioners may do differently than another. Which, in most cases, is a good thing since we all shouldn’t be exactly the same! But if you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask the Practitioner. They won’t think your questions are silly, because they probably get them all the time. :)
Here is one of my favorite articles about calling a Practitioner for the first time. You will need a JSH subscription to view it, or you can send an email to me requesting it and I can send it to you via the JSHonline 'share' feature:
Here is the Christian Science Journal directory: https://directory.christianscience.com/?ICID=SEN%20Off%20Canvas%20Nav%7CMain%20Nav Have a lovely evening,
Elaina
______ For updates on future posts, you can subscribe here Read or listen to Science and Health online for free Purchase Science and Health
Comentarios