The experience I’m about to tell happened long ago, when I was just starting to study Christian Science.
My mother was a member of a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, in our city, and she helped me overcome problems many times by praying for me. However, I felt the need to prove for myself the efficacy of prayer, as I was learning from my study of Christian Science.
I was in the last years of my career as a teacher in a public school and had been called to work in the Bureau of Education office located next to my house. I needed to get a certificate showing my years of service in order to apply for retirement. And to do that I needed to go to the Regional Bureau of Education. Because I was a full-time employee, I asked the manager of the local Bureau of Education where I was working if I could take the afternoon off as personal time, and he agreed.
I left the office after lunch, around 2:00 p.m. The headquarters of the Regional Bureau of Education was far away, and I had to take two buses to get there. When I arrived, there was some delay, and it took some time for them to be able to take care of my case. But at the end, my papers were analyzed and my time of service was correctly counted.
Now I was sure of the allness of good and felt completely embraced by it, like wearing a protecting cloak.
I left at 5:00 p.m., when the regional bureau closed for the day. I was delighted with the outcome, but worried about my trip back home, at rush hour, on crowded buses. When I left the building and went down a small staircase, I twisted my foot and fell on the sidewalk. A lady who was passing helped me get up. I thanked her and ran to take a bus that was approaching. The bus stop was about fifty yards away, and my foot began to hurt.
On the bus, I found a seat and began to pray, affirming that God had been blessing me all along—my work situation, for instance, had just been adjusted in a good way. I knew that nothing could prevent divine Truth from being expressed, as I had been experiencing throughout the day.
When I arrived at the bus station where I should get off and take another bus, it was hard to put my foot on the ground. I continued to pray, affirming God’s omnipresence, where there are no accidents or the effects of an accident. We cannot fall from God’s presence, which is always guiding us. At that moment, my prayers gave me the certainty that only God was leading me back home.
I tried to let go of fearful thoughts suggesting that something could be wrong with me. God made me spiritual and perfect, and nothing could change that. And nothing could disturb the joy of having adjusted my work situation satisfactorily, as it was an outcome of my prayers. I began to feel very calm. Now I was sure of the allness of good and felt completely embraced by it, like wearing a protecting cloak.
When I got off the bus close to home, I still had to walk three blocks on a sloping street. I got home, thanking God, and didn’t mention to my family what had happened. I changed my shoes and put on loose slippers because my foot was very swollen, and no one noticed it.
While serving dinner for the family, I continued praying and praising God mentally. I slept well that night, and in the morning there was nothing wrong with my foot—no pain, no swelling. I rejoiced in God’s grace.
I left for work exultant, and walked eight blocks to the building where I worked. This was the route I took four times a day, and my foot didn’t bother me.
As I think of this quick healing, this Bible passage comes to mind: “Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ” (II Corinthians 2:14). This experience gave proof of Spirit’s triumph over matter.
