Gifts aglow

The wise men brought treasure  - gold, frankincense and myrrh - to the child Jesus in Bethlehem's manger. 

Christian Science: continuing evidence of Christ-healing, from the Christian Science Publishing Society, is a treasure-trove of gifts - gratitude for healings. 

This evening, after finalising my Christmas gift-wrapping, I picked it up and opened at random to "Healed of alcoholism" (pp. 182-184).

This lovely healing - which resulted in the reunification of a fractured family - just sings with pure joy. It is especially touching to learn that, in response to the Christian Science practitioner's request that the writer make a list of things he was grateful for, he "thought of fifty things"! Some time afterward, there was "a terrific feeling of calm and peace... An indescribable feeling of being aglow...".

My favourite part is where the writer's wife says: "...I no longer love Judge the way I once had. But guess what? I fell in love with my husband all over again. Things changed for the better in our household, and we began to attend the local Christian Science church as a family."

A lovely article in the December 2004 issue of The Christian Science Journal ("Gifts from the wise men") shares some thoughts about the qualities expressed by the wise men, in particular: intelligence ("They knew how to figure out that the Messiah had come"); courage ("They had to travel a long distance to a strange country to find Jesus"; patience ("The wise men had patience and persistence to keep looking for Jesus"); and generosity ("They brought gifts to give Jesus and his parents"). We too can freely share these healing gifts.

Julie Swannell