A heart filled with love and gratitude impels me to share the healings and the joyous spiritual unfoldment which have resulted from my study of Christian Science.
One day after eight weeks of serious illness, I faced the fact that medicine was not helping me, and I refused to take any more of it. I turned to the teachings of Christian Science and thanked God fervently for directing me to the truth. I was so happy about it that I did not notice until some time later that the racking cough which had for such a long time defied medicines had vanished. The darkness of error could not exist in the bright presence of such overwhelming gratitude and joy.
During the years that have passed since then, Christian Science has done so much for me that in the short space allotted to a testimony it would be impossible to tell of all the blessings it has brought into my life.
A healing through spiritual means alone occurred after I had been incapacitated by an injured knee. My work as teacher in a public school system required compliance with a board of education ruling which demanded a medical diagnosis. The diagnosis was that the cartilage had been injured; this prevented the opening of the joint and the straightening of the leg.
An operation was recommended, but I depended on Christian Science instead. The healing was not a quick one, but during it I had a wonderful, beautiful time of joyous spiritual unfoldment. When the healing was complete, I was asked for a physician's statement that I was able to return to work. After a thorough examination the doctor said that the joint had complete freedom of movement, but he admitted that it might always have been stiff if I had submitted to an operation.
During the time that I was working out this problem, my bank account dwindled to nothing. One day when I had only one dollar left with which to support a family of three, someone came to me and told of an urgent need for eighty-five cents. This I gave, thus reducing my assets to fifteen cents and a vacant summer cottage which I owned at that time. When the thought of lack was suggested, I declared, "I have enough for this moment, and man lives in the eternal now."
An hour later a man rented my summer cottage. Although summer was a long way off and he did not wish to move in until July, he paid the entire summer's rental immediately, instead of making the customary small down payment. This rental was ample to meet my needs until I was able to return to work.
Once when I fractured my arm at the elbow, a piece of bone was broken away from the joint, and I was told by a surgeon that unless I was hospitalized and had the piece removed, the arm would always be troublesome. As a result of Christian Science treatment alone, however, the piece of bone moved back into the right place of its own accord and knitted together perfectly, leaving the arm free to move normally. The surgeon considered it wonderful that an adult should have such a healing.
During a yearly association meeting I was healed of a severe attack of influenza. Pneumonia has been healed in a few days. About seven years ago, I was healed of appendicitis. When requested by the board of education to have an X ray, I was told that I had a case of bone disintegration. It was healed instantaneously when I saw clearly that the counterfact of disintegration is attraction and that divine Love attracts.
While I am truly grateful for all of these healings, I am even more deeply grateful for the comforting understanding that my real selfhood, the reflection of God, is forever at one with the Father, untouched by any physical disability.
With a heart full of gratitude I give thanks for the gift of our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, to mankind. I am especially grateful for the consecrated lives of the Christian Science practitioners who have inspired and healed me and for the Sanatorium of the Christian Science Benevolent Association, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, where a higher sense of home and of universal love unfolded to me.— Richmond Hill, New York.
