On page 410 of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy we read: "Every trial of our faith in God makes us stronger. The more difficult seems the material condition to be overcome by Spirit, the stronger should be our faith and the purer our love." Since commencing the study of Christian Science I have overcome many difficulties, both mental and physical. In cases of sickness I have usually been freed very quickly. I was therefore quite confident that I had overcome all my fears in that direction.
Some time ago, however, I went through a testing time in which I had to prove that there is no sensation in matter and that God, good, is my Life. One night I awoke with sharp pains from an abscess on my foot. I denied the condition immediately and was able to go to sleep, but the next morning the pain became much worse. I worked constantly to see the unreality of matter and the allness of God. In the afternoon the pain became almost unbearable. I was alone in the house, and I declared aloud and with all my heart that God is All-in-all; that He is Truth and that as a divine idea I could not suffer.
For more than two hours I worked in this manner without any relief from the pain. When my children came home at night, I wanted to join them in the evening meal, but upon rising I was so ill I thought I was going to lose consciousness. One of my children, seeing me pale and about to faint, asked for help from a friend who was a practitioner. Almost at once I felt better, and the abscess on my foot soon broke. My foot did not heal quickly, but it hardly bothered me any more. I was able to attend to all my usual duties, and I thought everything was going to return to normal.
