One time, when I was a teen-ager, I fell off my bicycle, apparently breaking my wrist in the process. My arm was put in a sling, and I stayed home from school. During this time I visited the local Christian Science Reading Room. The librarian there talked with me briefly and referred me to "the scientific statement of being" from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy (p. 468). Then he directed me to the study room with an invitation to take a new look at Mrs. Eddy's words.
"There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all," the statement begins. Pride (at being able to manage despite the pain and immobility) and other types of matter-based thinking were rebuked, replaced with a sincere desire to appreciate and understand this great statement. My obligation as a Christian Scientist, to put into practice what I knew, was reawakened, and I was soon fully recovered and back at school.
This healing was often recalled, and I continue to learn lessons from it. But it has a sequel. While at college, a lump appeared on the wrist that had been injured. I was always able to make the lump go away by pressing the bone back into place, so I paid little attention to it. But then, when I was lifting heavy objects, the same problem would arise. Eventually, the discomfort and inconvenience this caused prompted me to deal with the problem. I refuted, in thought, the claim that the law of infinite Mind could be reversed or annulled; and I declared that in infinite perfection there is no opportunity for imperfection. This was clear, short, silent treatment after which I promptly forgot about my wrist.
