I couldn’t help it—Christian Science made sense to me
Maybe the rest of the world would have called me “strange” for being a Christian Scientist. But for me, that wasn’t the issue. It was my family that mattered to me. And my family certainly thought I was strange.
“You are Hindu,” they told me.
“A Hindu,” they added, “doesn’t become a Christian.”
But I couldn’t help it. Christian Science made sense to me. So I went on attending services at a local church. And they went on shaking their heads.
Then one Wednesday night, on my way home from a testimony meeting, I was in an accident on my motorbike that left me unconscious by the side of the road. Police took me to the hospital and called my family. When I came to, I called a Christian Science practitioner, and within half an hour she was there with her husband who is also a Christian Scientist. They accompanied me home, but my parents—much to my surprise—didn’t seem very happy to see me. The practitioner and her husband shared a few healing ideas and left. That was when my parents really let loose.
“The Hindu gods are punishing you,” they told me. “That’s what this and all your other accidents are about.”
These sound like harsh words, but my parents weren’t trying to be unkind. They were genuinely concerned about me—though I knew what they were saying couldn’t be true. Punished? It actually sounded quite funny to me. In Christian Science I had learned that God loves His children and never punishes them. I couldn’t fathom a God who would both bless His people and curse them. I prayed to know that God was taking care of me and my family. We could all feel His love.
But still, I met with resistance to my “strangeness.” My parents even went so far as to physically stop me from attending church services, and because I was still praying about a knee injury from the accident, there was nothing I could do but stay home.
Stay home and pray, that is. My practitioner friend and I prayed to understand that there is only one God and that He is supreme. In Hinduism they call deity “God,” too. So I extended my prayer to include my family as well. I prayed to see that one God is in control and He is controlling each and every situation and person. So my parents and relatives are not beyond this control.
I also had to deal with some resentment that had built up as a result of my parents’ reaction to my “strangeness.” I prayed to dissolve that feeling of resentment and ultimately started seeing and appreciating the Godlike qualities in my parents.
The real test came when my healing was complete. I wanted to go back to church—and I didn’t want to sneak around to do it. One thing I’d been praying about all along was spiritual strength—the strength to follow God in the way He was showing me, and the strength to overcome resistance of any kind.
At first, it seemed like the same thing was happening that always happened. When my mom heard I was headed to church, she told me I could stay there and that I shouldn’t bother to come back home. But this time, my thinking about the situation was different. Instead of fear or resentment, I just felt love. There was absolutely no clash in my mind.
The Bible asks, “Does a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?” 1
After that Sunday, I knew for certain that the answer to that question is: No. I did come home after church, and you know what? There was no more opposition. Now my parents appreciate my duties and activities related to church. And they understand that Christian Science doesn’t break up the family but instead it brings love and harmony to our relationships.
It is the result of prayer that my parents not only appreciate Christian Science but that they’ve also even begun attending Christian Science lectures. Gone is the strangeness and bitterness. Not in spite of, but in fact because of Christian Science, my relationship with my parents is now perfectly sweet.
Notes:
- James 3:11 ↩
Topics: Family, Religion | Tags: acceptance, embracing Christian Science, Hindu, resistance
Thanks Puneet for sharing a great healing.
Thanks puneet
remember that they are one God and that He is supreme, God loves His children and never punishes them,thanks for sharing this wonderful healing
Puneet, I think what is most important is your healing, both physical and your family healing. That is what is the most convincing evidence of the healing power of Christ. This does not have to be an exclusive understanding only reserved for Christian Scientists, but these truths are true throughout. I recently shared some ideas with friends who were having a hard time with an event they were planning, and the ideas were not outwardly Christian Science ideas but ideas of harmony and love and those ideas healed the stress of the situation and the event was absolutely beautiful.
Thanks Puneet for your honest and moving story. You are really gaining strength in God. Much love to you and the family and all of your friends.
I can read my own thoughts in ur words!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thank you for sharing this! you inspire me to keep loving my family, even if they oppose my decision to rely on Christian Science for healing, and that healing happens no matter who opposes it!
Dear Puneet, Thank you for sharing your experience so beautifully. You’ve truly grown up spiritually during this period. It was really a turning point in your commitment to Christian Science.
Thanks once again. Love to you and your family!!
Here is an evidence of what Mrs Eddy termed “Moral courage” she greatly expected from Christian Scientist.
I love that you thought it was funny that you could be punished. Laughing at the thought that there is any power apart from God, always puts it in its place, as nothing. Thanks for sharing your wonderful example of unconditional love.
Thanks for sharing this Puneet. It’s a beautiful example of navigating by prayer and love.
Hey Martin, how about not assuming what Puneet is going to say? He didn’t say that about his accident, or about his parents.
Thank you!
I guess you haven’t yet heard the rationalizations from Christian Scientists when bad things happen to them. Now you’ll no longer say the Hindu gods are punishing you, but instead, malicious animal magnetism or similar nonsense is controlling you.
Keep searching.
Thank you so much for this, it helps me with something I’m praying about. Thanks Puneet!
Thanks for sharing your story Puneet, it is so inspiring that you prayed not only to be able to attend church services and practice Christian Science freely, but also to be in harmony with your family in doing so. This is such a beautiful example of Love’s completeness!
Puneet – thank you for sharing your journey with us and also the way you prayed along the way. All parents want the best for their children. However, sometimes cultural, class, religious differences are super hard lines for families to cross. Christian Science makes so much sense to me also. My learning more about God helps me to reason that any resistance to Christian Science is not personal but rather is an opportunity to claim this Truth for all of humanity; to lift humanity Spirit-ward and away from mortality dreams. Even if my family around me does not agree with or understand me – I have found it very helpful to love love love them, but stay my course of independent thinking and spiritual reasoning. It is the most loving thing I can do for those that love me.
Great story! I admire your strength and conviction, and that you saw that harmony was your only reality. Thank you for sharing.
wow, what spiritual strength you showed. This is a great healing, thank you so much for sharing:)