Each day brings to the student of Christian Science renewed assurance of the ever-presence and all-power of God. A recent experience gave me ample opportunity to test this. One morning shortly after arriving at the office and while reading some proof, I noticed that everything seemed to dance before my eyes, but paid little attention to it and went on with my duties. Suddenly, however, I was seized with acute pain in the intestines, so severe that it seemed impossible for me to remain sitting. I therefore attempted to rise to my feet, but began to feel that I was fainting.
From the first moment that I felt the pain I began to declare the everpresence and protection of divine Mind, and while I could not collect my thought sufficiently to repeat the entire passage, enough of the last four verses of the fortieth chapter of Isaiah came to me to know that God "fainteth not," and that He was giving me power and strength right then. Probably I lost consciousness for a few seconds, but the first sense of fear was dispelled with the thought of God's presence, and I was able to declare spasmodically that the divine Mind is always conscious and that God's child reflects and expresses consciousness at all times. I clung to the truth, and after what seemed some time, but was perhaps only a few minutes, my entire body became very hot and then cold, and I was covered with cold perspiration.
Although I preferred that no one in the office should know of the condition, it finally seemed wise to ask one of the clerks to telephone to a Christian Science practitioner, but I discovered that I could not speak. I then realized that there was something more for me to do, and as I was entirely conscious at this time, although apparently very weak. I opened apparently very weak, I opened Science and Health. Reading a sentence or two, as strength came to me to do so, and overcoming each new condition which seemed to present itself, I soon felt stronger, and in less than an hour, when a call came, I was able to walk a considerable distance to the office of one of my employers and do the work that was required. The rest of the day I did whatever came to me to do, supported by a realization of the truth contained in these words: "Having faith in the divine Principle of health and spiritually understanding God, sustains man under all circumstances" (Science and Health, p. 319). The next morning I felt perfectly normal.
