More than once I have wanted to contribute to our periodicals my gratitude for Christian Science, but each time I have been deterred by the necessity of choosing, from among a multitude, a few examples of the great things God has done for me. But having passed the tenth anniversary of life under the authority of this wonderful Science, I feel I must share something.
Once, while still a very new student of Science, I happened upon a drunken brawl between two men. The one dispatched his opponent, and then for some reason decided to attack me. A fair-sized crowd had gathered, and they turned to watch as he lurched, fists at the ready, across the thirty or so feet between us. Instantly I turned my thought from the whole ugly situation and wordlessly reached out to God, divine Love. I felt a great sense of peace and enveloping warmth. By the time my assailant reached me, his hands were loose and at his sides, the tension was gone, and his face was calm, though looking somewhat startled. When he stopped in front of me, I put my hand on his shoulder, and said: "It's OK, we're friends." He turned and walked away, perfectly steady on his feet. I later realized that by the time he had reached me, the crowd had begun to disperse, apparently having lost interest. Our brief exchange was unobserved, I think. The gentle but mighty power of God had been sufficient not only to protect the two of us from violence but also to overcome the morbid fascination with violence on the part of others.
Asthma plagued me for as long as I can remember. Having always been unathletic, I took on a physical fitness course to do something about it. During the several months the course lasted, I found I had to pray constantly just to be able to do what was required—and especially to have the breath to do the considerable running involved. I would plod around the track, declaring again and again the truth of my being as wholly spiritual, created and sustained by all-powerful Spirit, though every material evidence declared the opposite. Mentally and physically I persisted to the conclusion of the course and felt rewarded when the instructor commented on what he considered my exceptional progress. (Still, it had not occurred to me to deal with the asthma through specific prayer, because I had always accepted it as an integral part of my life.)
