Spring is such a beautiful time of rebirth and renewal. The vegetation awakes from its dormancy of winter, the birds come back north full of song, and baby animals come forth to replenish the earth. Such is the case at our farm. The joy of seeing our cattle herd populate with calves banishes memories of caring for herd during the long cold winter months.
Calving season for us begins in late April though it has been slower this year. I usually check the cows twice a day during this time looking for any changes. One day I noticed a cow with two hoofs protruding from her hind end and knew she was in trouble. My husband, Dave, arrived home within a few minutes and we were able to get the cow into the barn and into the head gate to immobilize her.
The calf was breech and needed to be turned for a proper delivery. However, after reaching in to turn the calf, Dave could not reach the head or a front leg so asked me to call the vet. I tried two clinics and all the vets were out on farm calls. I grabbed some towels and the dish soap he had requested and went back to the barn. The cow had stopped pushing but remained upright.
When a calf needs help exiting the birth canal, calving chains are delicately used to pull it out. The chains are attached above the pastern area. Care is taken not to damage the legs or pull a hoof off. We both pulled to no avail so Dave went to get a come-a-long to help pull. At this point the urgency was to get the calf delivered to at least save the mother. Not knowing how long she had been in this condition, time was of the essence; we had to pull the calf out from the position it was in – back legs first.
My prayers went from random to the realization that this calf was a new fresh idea of God and nothing could stop God from being expressed. I remembered Mrs. Eddy had written about birth as a new idea coming forth and that the idea could not harm its surroundings in the process. I held to this thought as my husband came back and attached the come-a-long to the calf chains on the legs. He used the dish soap as a lubricant on the calf and we gently but firmly with the help of the come-a-long pulled.
Progress was evident so we repeated the procedure of lubing and pulling. All the while I kept affirming the truth of this calf's identity as an idea of God. It slipped out onto the floor having been in a stretched lengthwise position through its mothers body back feet first.. After cleaning its nostrils and mouth the calf was breathing on his own – a healthy bull calf. Dave dragged him to his mothers head and she took over cleaning him. What a wonderful blessing. Within 30 minutes he was standing and nursing and mama was doing her motherly duty. Last year this same cow had stepped on her baby and killed it. We were grateful to see her accept this baby.
Later Dave and I shared the thoughts we had prayed with during this time and were so grateful for the guidance Divine Mind gives us in a time of need. I looked up the thoughts I had been praying with in Science and Health. It is page 463 and is under the side bar “Scientific obstetrics.
“To attend properly the birth of the new child, or divine idea, you should so detach mortal thought from its material conceptions, that the birth will be natural and safe. Though gathering new energy, this idea cannot injure its useful surroundings in the travail of spiritual birth.”
The great benefit of studying Christian Science is that the right thoughts are with us when we need them and the results of prayer are dependable.
IT'S ALWAYS RIGHT TO DO RIGHT
Since our Association meeting, I have continued working with the idea of obedience to God: “Thy will be done.” I have worked on letting go of outlining what I think should happen. That does not mean not generating ideas, or course; just following them with a willingness to change course when necessary, and not needing to plan every single detail.
While serving in the Reading Room (RR), a woman called who’d visited the downtown RR in the past. She wanted to talk with someone about CS who wouldn’t judge her. She has multiple medical problems, and at first seemed to be interested in CS primarily as an excuse not to take medicine others thought she should, but later she also felt it is the most correct of any religion she’d studied.
She and I have a lot in common. We both have backgrounds in Theatre, have studied a variety of religions and spiritual paths, have human histories of abuse and PTSD, and are both on disability due to health issues.After talking with her a few times, she asked me to pray for her. What I perceived to be the main issue she wanted help with, was fear. (Of course that’s really the only issue, period!) She was afraid of losing control of her thoughts and life. The fear was resulting in exactly that happening! I worked with her on knowing God’s loving presence and protection, using that knowledge to break the fear spiral that had been gripping her. I continually prayed, asking God to tell me what to say and do to help her, and did what I was told. At one point I was led to a Time4Thinkers article about how practitioners can keep from doubting their work, which was great! I’d just spent time the previous night addressing exactly that issue, so I was able to contribute.I’m grateful to say that, after a week or so, there was a distinct shift in her thought. She became able to stop herself from the accelerating fear obsessions that had plagued her, and started considering concrete steps to take to help herself.
I am so grateful for having a part in her healing! And, doing so helped me greatly as well. I am now looking at possibilities in my own life, trusting God to guide and protect me. I began seeing a wide range of possibilities for myself as well, and feeling much more secure in my own identity as God’s beloved child. I also started feeling more confident in my ability to trust God in any situation I am in.
At the moment, everything seems to be in a major state of flux. I do not know what is going to happen humanly. Among other things, it’s been over a year since I applied for membership at the church I attend, and I’ve been trying to get a paid position in the Reading Room. Membership requires a by-law change because current by-laws bar new members who take any medication, and while I have made huge healing progress, I still have issues with severe pain, so I still take some medicine. There seems to also be resistance to hiring someone who is not a member, so it’s all tied together.
I am very grateful to be at a point where I am secure in God’s love, and know that whatever happens, I am always in my right place. Whether at that church or another, in that position or another, I will continue to grow spiritually, and continue to share CS with others. I have been focusing more attention on Time4Thinkers postings, and have commented on some, including one on “Is Christian Science stilted by traditional thought?” here:http://time4thinkers.com/is-christian-science-stilted-by-traditional-tho...
I realize I only have to be concerned with pleasing God, not with pleasing other people; and I know God is leading me where I need to go, at a sustainable pace. I do not need to be afraid! I am very grateful for the progress I’ve made since taking class, and the acceleration in progress since our last Association meeting.DOCTOR WHO AND THE ADAM DREAM (2015)
I had gotten home from a trip recently, had been busy all day and decided to re-watch the Christmas episode of Doctor Who to wind down. In the episode, there were creatures called dream crabs that stuck to people’s faces and induced a dream state while slowly digesting their brains. Like sleeping dreams, it involved multiple instances of people waking up and thinking they were no longer dreaming, only to find after a while that they were in fact still in a dream.
I got a lot if inspiration from that episode! I saw it as a metaphor for mortal mind, which tries to appear real to us – but of course isn’t. As we progress spiritually, we have breakthroughs where we wake up and realize it’s been a dream; then we continue along until we have the next breakthrough, sometimes recognizing the unreality around us, but often being taken in by the appearance of truth.
As I watched, the mesmerizing claim of fatigue and physical pain started creeping in – claims that often follow trips for me. I saw what was happening, and thought to myself, I can wake up from this as easily as the people in the show woke up from their dreams! I asserted the realization that it was an unreal dream state, and claimed my dominion by telling myself to wake up! I immediately felt better, and easily took my dog out for his last walk and then went to bed, feeling fine.
I must add, after a much longer recent trip, I no longer had the same issue with extreme fatigue and soreness. I am so grateful for the lessons in Christian Science, including from non-traditional sources!
Comentarios