Spiritual Perspectives
Freedom from Toil

Barbara Russell
Special to The Independent

"Man is not made to till the soil." This quote from"Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures" by MaryBaker Eddy sounds radical. Of course we have to tillthe soil so things will grow. We have to till thesoil of our own lives so we will be productive andmake progress. But we can do it without a sense ofburden, and lots of stress and strain.

I recently had an experience that showed me that listening tointuition and following my inspiration would result inthe unfoldment of my next step relatively easily.Freedom from toil does not mean that there is noteffort involved, but the effort for me was to resistthe temptation to second guess myself, and replace itwith sincere listening and trust so I could followthrough confidently with my inspiration.

Recently, I made a fairly radical career change, froma full-time job to the practice of Christian Sciencehealing. Human wisdom would say that this was not thetime to give up a fulfilling job with a good salaryand benefits. The healing practice would offer noguaranteed income, no retirement plan, no healthinsurance. But the inspiration that said it was timefor me to do this was clear and certain that I wasready, and God would guide me in taking care of thedetails. Part of the guidance I received was the ideathat I would take a month for quiet prayer, study, andlistening for each step. I felt this would befoundational to my practice.

And it has been. It has emphasized the fact that eachindividual's relationship to God is the key to health,well-being, and progress. I have spent the first partof each day just listening for and trusting God'sdirection for my day, resisting the temptation to takethe reins back into my own hands, according to human"wisdom" and reasoning. Trusting God's direction hassaved me from "over thinking" and "over working" theprocess. Daily inspiration has provided for actions,at the proper time, to promote my practice, andinspiration about supplemental work I could do thatwould support its beginnings.

It has been a little hard at times to sit still andlisten, and I have had some anxiety about thetransition. But when the anxiety came up, Iremembered that moment of inspiration unexpected butclear and certain. I firmly maintained that God isthe source of my daily inspiration, ideas, andsupport.

Remembering my unchangeable connection with God helpsme to trust my intuition and inspiration, even if itgoes against human wisdom, and helps me to trust inGod's support as I take action to move forward fromthe inspiration. My real work then, is always toreaffirm my relationship with the Father, as His imageand likeness, and to trustingly follow His will forme. This time that I set aside for prayer andlistening results in "a priceless sense of the dearFather's loving-kindness." (Science & Health, p.366). When I conduct my affairs from a sense of theFather's loving-kindness, daily life is gentler.

I also recalled Jesus' words, "And seek not ye what yeshall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye ofdoubtful mind. ...your Father knoweth that ye have needof these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom ofGod; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's goodpleasure to give you the kingdom." (Luke 12 KJV)We can count on God to supply our daily needs andthose of our families, our communities, and our world.And our biggest daily need is for ideas that will helpus move forward with the unfoldment of God's creation,not our creation. Seeing the distinction betweenrunning my own life and letting God's government of mylife be revealed has resulted in a deep peace, and acertainty that things will work out because I ambasing my actions on my trust in God and His love forme. It is the difference between "making a living"and knowing that my living is made, and my job is toshare God's bounty with others.

Barbara Russell is a Christian Science Practitionerand a member of the Christian Science Group of Gallup. She can be contacted at (505) 722-0357 or brgallup@yahoo.com for assistance in healing illnessor other problems through prayer, and for copies ofScience & Health.

This column is the result of a desire by community members, representing different faith communities, to share their ideas about bringing a spiritual perspective into our daily lives and community issues.

For information about contributing a guest column, contact Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola at the Independent: (505) 863-8611, ext. 218 or lizreligion01@yahoo.com.