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.
A year or so later, when a daughter showed similar symptoms, prayer was again employed. Recognizing that the word "appendix" means something additional, I turned to this verse in the Bible (Eccl. 3:14): "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him." It was clear that our daughter's true identity was spiritual and complete; everything about it was in order right then. This brought us comfort, and before long healing was evident.
Another daughter had a remarkable healing. She became very ill, and it looked as though she was passing on. My husband, who is not a Scientist, called a doctor. To calm myself, I phoned a practitioner, who said she would pray for the harmony of the home. My husband informed the doctor, when he arrived, that I was a Christian Scientist, and the doctor agreed to leave the girl at home overnight. I sang hymns from the Christian Science Hymnal to her all night, and by morning she had regained consciousness and was well. The doctor examined her later and acknowledged that the healing had come through prayer. He then made certain inquiries and remarked that the condition could well have been tetanus.
More recently one of our daughters was in a car accident. She was taken by ambulance to hospital, where X-rays revealed several breaks in her upper arm. I was contacted, so I phoned a practitioner to pray for us. Because of the severity of the break, the hospital had called in a bone specialist. The arm was set and placed in plaster. The lass refused all medication and asked to return home that evening, where we studied and prayed together. Using the Concordances to the Bible and Mrs. Eddy's writings, we looked up such words as bones, accident, collisions, intact. When the plaster was removed five weeks later, the arm was found to be in perfect shape, and was even the same color as the other sun-tanned arm! The bone specialist was delighted with the second X-ray taken at that time, for it showed the bone was straight and strong.
For a period of eighteen months, a severely irritating and ugly rash covered my face and neck. While I was never tempted to resort to material remedies, I was puzzled that my study and prayers did not bring release. A practitioner, who had encouraged me to keep striving for healing, one day said, "Are you doing all your daily duties by 'the sweat of [your] face' [Gen. 3: 19], or by expressing spiritual qualities?" From that time on, although I continued to be active in church work; in caring for the family, including an elderly relative; and in part-time secretarial duties, a wonderful change took place in my approach. Burdened human efforts were replaced by an awareness of the spiritual qualities man freely expresses, such as order, inspiration, wisdom, and so on. The rash just vanished, never to return, and that was over twelve years ago. Without question, God is good!
Glen Waverley, Victoria, Australia
I am the daughter who was in the car accident. I recall reaching out to God when I saw the other car swerving toward mine. I called out, "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory" [see Matt. 6: 13]. The impact forced the engine of my car right through the front seat, and my car split into two pieces.
At the hospital I was told that my arm was severely damaged and that I must wait for a specialist. Someone had contacted my mother, who called a Christian Science practitioner. Our prayers sustained me and no pain was felt. Although I agreed to have the arm set, I quietly declined the specialist's suggestion of a general anesthetic and other medication and told her I was a Christian Scientist. After setting the arm, she said it would take a minimum of twelve weeks to heal, that there could well be severe nerve damage, and that after the plaster was removed I would need to undergo therapy before regaining full use of my arm. In five weeks the plaster was removed. I then returned to work as a secretary, able to use my arm freely and to type with no problems. During those five weeks I had found it necessary to clear my thoughts to see that there is really justice for all. At no time did I feel resentment toward the drunken driver who had caused the accident. The compensation I was offered exactly met a prior debt that I had considered unfairly large. I am very grateful for Christian Science.
