November 18, 2012
Twelve callers from all over the country joined the discussion of Blessings: Adventures of a madcap Christian Scientist, by Karen Molenaar Terrell
Bill Sweet, Darra, Bev Ledwith, Rindy, Barb Molter, Cynthia, Sandi, Clare Turner, Jan True, Nancy Fisher. Marge Small, Susan from Maine
We’re trying a new reporting format tonight. We’ve posted questions Tim (our moderator) asked, and combined various responses to those questions. Please let us know if you think this format is an improvement, or if you have a better idea.
Q. What did you like?
I like her joy and enthusiasm. I had a sense she wrote the book to share some blessings with us. It touched my heart in a lot of places, even if it wasn’t typical Christian Science testimony format. It was so natural for her to pray about things and have resolutions. It inspired me. I had tears in my eyes in several places.
She said in her preface she felt the need to acknowledge God’s blessings in her life. The things she said and experienced were in a way many of the same kinds of things I had experienced. I enjoyed her as a fresh voice. I appreciated hearing others’ comments because it helps me see her in a new way. My husband who is not a CSt started reading a few pages and enjoyed what he read.
Q. Was Karen the Lucy Ricardo of Christian Scientists?
I don’t think she was far out. There was a sweetness and joy in her writing. She was a little too enthusiastic for me. I could see why she called herself a Lucy Ricardo. This book disproves the old concept that “everything’s just fine.” Instead she says, “This was a problem, and here’s what I did.” For me she’s a real person talking about real life.
I think she’s giving a disclaimer when she calls herself the Lucy Ricardo of Christian Scientists. She’s saying this is not typical Christian Science writing. She’s human, she’s real. This is what she’s dealing with. She says we’re allowed to exhale, I haven’t missed the mark, I can keep working at this. She is refreshing, inspiring, and I appreciate that she documented her life as a “madcap Christian Scientist.”
Q. What blocks the empathy, the compassion? What gets in the way as we apply Christian Science in our lives?
The words that explain the healing idea have to be backed by the spirit of love those words imply. The words without the Spirit are one block. There is a need to meet the human need too, to be practical, acknowledge and meet the human need. I think especially when it’s your own child, young or old, there’s fear when something is amiss. When you are trying to quiet your own thought, trying so hard to understand that nothing has happened, sometimes the words can come out all wrong, even though it was intended to make more apparent to ourselves God’s presence.
What a gift Christian Science nursing is as we work through to our healing. We must first bind up the broken-hearted. That’s the compassion, meeting the human need. On p. 58 – when Karen ran to the overturned SUV, she was already declaring (and seeing!) divine Love meeting the human need. She spoke to the teenage driver as the opportunity occurred, saying the exact few words that brought clarity to the girl. Karen knew she could leave her in the hands of trained medical professionals.
Also, p. 31, the chapter about the stray dog the farmer shot because it was chasing his cattle. A transformation came when the dog and the farmer became good friends. A transformation touched Karen’s own life too. Christmas Dog opened Karen’s heart to accept the later blessings in her life of teaching, home, and family.
Q. Children of the belay. What did you think of that? (The belay is the action Pete took on the mountain that saved five lives – including Karen’s dad, before she was born.)
I also like the title of this chapter, The Tie that Binds. I think her chapter names are quite good. I’ve been wanting to read this book for years. And somebody said this book was a short one, so I read it last night, and my thought changed and I felt better. For me it was very uplifting.
Q. Feargnorance p. 77 (yes, that’s the correct spelling!). How do fear and ignorance always seem to go together?
When the employer fired her because she was a Christian Scientist. She didn’t let the episode go because she felt the tension hadn’t been resolved. And how the woman who fired her had a humble moment when she apologized (due to Jimmy Swaggert’s fall from grace in her church). That apology set her relationship with the woman on solid ground. Their relationship was resolved in the right way.
I helped organize a hospital panel discussion with many viewpoints. I discovered that I had preconceived notions about what people think of Christian Scientsts, or whether they would want to use prayer. Those notions were too limiting.
I haven’t spoken yet, but I found the book delightful, fresh, honest. Grateful for Karen’s willingness to share. This will be an easy book to share with others.
Happy Holidays everyone. A meaningful Thanksgiving and a peace filled Christmas to all.
2013. Our next book club discussion will be… next year! Details here.
The book, Rolling Away the Stone, by Steven Gottschalk, is long enough to warrant two months’ worth of discussing – January and February! It covers the last twenty years of Mary Baker Eddy’s life.
Really nice. Your questions and comments gave me a chance to experience a bit of your conversation when I wasn’t able to be with you. Thanks for sharing this way.
Hi Sandi,
Enjoyed the book club Sunday. Wonderful comments. Here are some “Karen” Youtube links readers might enjoy. Karen has a lovely voice.