After my father had been told by doctors that he had a matter of weeks to live, my mother took up the study of Christian Science to help him. An acquaintance learned of this and took Mother and me to our first Wednesday testimony meeting in a branch church. We introduced ourselves to a testifier, who turned out to be a Christian Science practitioner. He said he would gladly visit us and talk with my father. The problem was cirrhosis caused by long years of heavy drinking. Within a month my father was healed of the liver condition and the drinking, and was attending church with the family.
In my marriage our five children have been raised in Christian Science. At one time one of our sons developed a badly infected finger. We talked over his problems, and in the course of our talk he mentioned resenting his two bosses at work for their harsh treatment of him. Both men were what some might term "foreigners." In our prayers, our son and I affirmed that there is nothing foreign in God's spiritual universe, since God, good, is truly the Father of all. That night the infection drained, and our son was healed. After this, work conditions and our son's relationships with his bosses decidedly improved.
Another son had just returned from a country holiday when he developed symptoms of appendicitis. We learned that earlier he had seen a playmate rushed away to hospital to have his appendix removed. It was obvious to the lad and me that he had allowed the aggressive suggestion of illness to take hold in his thinking. We prayed, realizing that the child of God, who is created in the Father's image, could never be less than perfect. The symptoms soon left.
