Fear Not

I’m grateful for a lesson that I am learning in Christian Science — to fear less. And I’m looking forward to someday fearing not.

When I was a young adult and first came to Plainfield, I thought I was fearless. I didn’t think I feared anything. I had a little bit of instruction in Christian Science as a child, and I experienced some healing, and thought that I really had nothing to fear. After I got to Plainfield and began working with a fine Christian Science practitioner in Plainfield, I gradually realized that a lot of the things that I did every day I did out of fear — out of fear of not being loved, or not being able to pay my bills, or out of fear of losing something. As I realized, with the help of this fine practitioner, that I was doing a lot of things out of fear, a couple of the passages in the Bible began to take on new meaning to me. One of those passages is “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (II Timothy 1:7) Another passage which stood out and stayed with me was the passage that says “perfect love casteth out fear:” (I John 4:18)

With the help of this practitioner, I realized that I needed to love more. I needed to love better, to have a more perfect love for God, for my fellow man, and for myself. I needed to see that my being was spiritual, and not material. I realized that I had a lot of big important lessons to learn that I hadn’t yet learned.

I have found over the years that this is a process. It doesn’t happen overnight, and it takes work. I’m grateful for all the help that I have received from that practitioner, and from others in the church, to be more understanding, and more comfortable with my spirituality and not so materialistic, and to learn to stop being competitive.

I’m happy to say that I do fear less, and that I am a much happier and more content person as a result. I’m looking forward to everything else that I need to learn, because I am finding that Christian Science has the answer to every question. It has certainly done so in my life so far, and I expect that God will provide whatever else I need going forward. I am very grateful for Christian Science.