Walking myself upstream

Thanks, Kit.

The home where I grew up was in the mountains and had a clear, beautiful spring-fed stream bubbling by our doorstep. When I was a child, my father and I would hike up old logging roads until we reached the source of our water, gushing crystal cool out of the very rocks. We drank that water with relish, sure of its purity.

Once in awhile, the stream became cloudy and full of mud. My father would tell me not to worry. Someone was digging upstream and disrupting the soil, but the spring was still pure. He assured me that if we took the time to walk up stream, we’d see that the source was undisturbed.

It’s a lesson that has had bigger implications in my life. I’ve learned through my study of Christian Science that with God as our source, we are actually spotless and pure as God’s spiritual expression, just as the stream expresses the purity of the spring at its origin. I know it doesn’t seem like that, but I’ve had proof that it’s true. Our experiences and circumstances often seem to put distance between us and our divine source—and muddy us along the way. But prayer walks us back to our source, God.

 
Whenever I have a challenge, I remember that insight from childhood. I can know that God, my true source, is like the crystal clear spring, and so I am an expression of that purity. In this way, I can mentally “walk myself upstream,” above the disturbing view, by consistently claiming my spiritual and true purity, with God as my source.

If I’m tempted to think that there’s a legitimate reason for any discord, I love being reminded that I cannot be tricked by any attempt to muddy my stream. My source—everyone’s source—is always our ever-present, loving God. And if it doesn’t come from God, it can be challenged and overcome.

Sent by Kit Kurtz