In gratitude for numerous healings I have enjoyed through the study and application of Christian Science and in appreciation of the spiritual growth which has come through these experiences, I humbly submit this testimony.
In our ranch home we have a concrete basement which is reached through a trap door and a heavy staircase. When we bought the house, the stairway was not anchored; it merely rested against the concrete wall. One day when I had to go down to the basement I went to the opening and stepped on the top step. Without any warning the staircase slid from place and fell to the floor eight feet below. I landed astride one of the heavy steps with one foot caught under it, and the pain was excruciating.
The first thing that came to my thought was the Lord's Prayer with its spiritual interpretation, given on pages 16 and 17 of our textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. This prayer had become such a part of my daily life that in my extremity it came to me immediately. After a few moments I dragged myself to a chair and declared the truth that I was in reality God's child. I repeated Mrs. Eddy's statement on page 424 of the textbook, "Accidents are unknown to God, or immortal Mind, and we must leave the mortal basis of belief and unite with the one Mind, in order to change the notion of chance to the proper sense of God's unerring direction and thus bring out harmony."
In order to "leave the mortal basis of belief," I saw that I had to stop believing I was a mortal who could be injured and that I must claim man's perfect status as God's idea, inviolate and unfallen. Since God's direction is unerring, nothing evil could happen to me, and I kept holding to this truth. Arguments of breakage, of dislocation, and of severe aftereffects came to me, but each was met by the truth of my being; and I thanked God for His unfailing love and care. In a few minutes I felt completely free.
When my husband came in about two hours later, I felt not only perfectly well but refreshed. He is not a student of Christian Science, and when I explained how I came to be down in the basement without a means of getting up, he could scarcely believe that I was unhurt.
Another healing for which I am profoundly grateful took place a few years ago. A condition with symptoms that suggested leprosy became apparent on my left hand. My husband noticed it and said, "You have leprosy." Shocked that he would voice my fear, I asked him why he had said that. He reminded me that I had lived in the British West Indies near a leper colony for over two years.
Mrs. Eddy says on page 321 of our textbook, "It was scientifically demonstrated that leprosy was a creation of mortal mind and not a condition of matter, when Moses first put his hand into his bosom and drew it forth white as snow with the dread disease, and presently restored his hand to its natural condition by the same simple process." This statement was very helpful to me.
I had Christian Science help in working out this problem, and I continued to do my housework, although at times the pain was great. Every once in a while my husband would become alarmed and want me to submit to medical treatment. However, I knew that medical help would be of no benefit to me. The condition improved somewhat, but the healing was slow.
Then one evening I pondered deeply the Scriptural account of the healing of Naaman (II Kings 5:1-14). This was very familiar to me, for I had lived with it for the past three months, but I listened intently for the message. It came like a flash of light. Elisha tested Naaman by telling him he must wash seven times in Jordan. I saw that I had been tested seven times with the suggestion to consult materia medica and that through my refusal to do so I had been cleansed of the last vestige of belief in any material medicine. I was so overjoyed and grateful for this revelation that the last trace of the disease disappeared within a very short time.
How grateful I am to Mary Baker Eddy for the purity and compassion which enabled her to give us her wonderful discovery of practical Christianity! I am grateful too for The Mother Church and for branch churches, which are like oases when one is traveling, for the periodicals, for class instruction, and for the annual association meetings.— Cohagen, Montana.
