Standing By

Image Credit: Bryant McGill (from his Facebook Page) (see: http://www.bryantmcgill.com)

One of the toughest things in life for a former Christian Scientist is dealing with friends and family who are still in Christian Science. Fortunately for me, I have no family members who are still in the faith, but I do have a number of friends who are, although I am not in close or regular contact with most of them outside of the occasional Facebook interactions. For those who still deal closely with people still in Christian Science, these relationships become especially tough if the Christian Scientist friend becomes seriously ill, and especially if that Christian Scientist is a close family member like a parent or sibling. All too often, the non-Christian Scientist gets shut out.

Sunday Morning Thought-spill

A fellow ex-Christian Scientist blogger has often mentioned to me that she gets shocked and saddened sometimes at the search terms (usually centred around “death” and/or “death in Christian Science” or other such terms) that bring people to her blog. I haven’t noticed those types of search terms bringing people here quite as much (I don’t tag often with the “death” tag, so maybe that’s why), but it does happen, yes; but what has tugged at me though are a couple of comments that were shared on a recent post.

Perilous Denial

Artwork by Isabella Bannerman.

Denial…spend any time talking to a former Christian Scientist and you’ll get an earful on the subject–I’ve interwoven the subject throughout many posts on this blog. If you talk to a practicing Christian Scientist, you’ll find that denial is a perfectly legitimate way to address almost any problem. Christian Science denies problems, it denies grief, denies anything “bad”, and therefore claims that by this process, the problem (which they claim never existed anyway) is solved. Confused yet? If you are, I don’t blame you. Explaining Christian Science and the requisite mental gymnastics required to practice it to someone who knows little or nothing about it, is like describing colour to someone who has been blind from birth.

Happy Mothers Day

It’s been a few Mothers Days now since my own mother’s death. It’s easier now, and I even celebrate it, and so enjoy the joy my friends who are moms or whose moms are still with them have on this day. It wasn’t so easy the first time. Mothers Day was depressing.