Early in my study of Christian Science I decided to commit a statement of substance to memory so that I would always have it with me in time of need. I turned to the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, and happened to open it to page 468. "The scientific statement of being" was what I read, and since it appealed to me, I memorized it. It reads: "There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all. Spirit is immortal Truth; matter is mortal error. Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal. Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual."
I was soon to make a long airplane trip. On previous plane trips I had experienced airsickness, and as the time drew near for this flight I began to fear a recurrence of the problem. Then, at the hotel where I was awaiting service to the airport, I actually became ill. When I called a Christian Science practitioner to pray for me, she asked that I read the first verse of Mrs. Eddy's poem "The Mother's Evening Prayer" (Poems, p. 4).Poems, p. 4. It's set to music as a series of hymns in the Christian Science Hymnal (Nos. 207-212) and begins:
O gentle presence, peace and joy and power;
O Life divine, that owns each waiting hour,
Thou Love that guards the nestling's faltering flight!
Keep Thou my child on upward wing tonight.
These lovely words held my thought as I started the plane trip. And although I was ill one more time (about thirty minutes later), the remainder of the flight (about ten hours) was very pleasant. I have never again experienced airsickness.
My family met me at the airport. From there we traveled ninety miles east by car into the morning sun. It was a joyous occasion to be with my family again, and much happy conversation ensued. Then suddenly I found that I was unable to talk. All realized something was wrong. At that moment we were passing a small farmhouse. They stopped the car and took me to rest in the shade of the house. During this time I turned my thought to "the scientific statement of being" and began to apply its truths silently, in a way I had never done before. I pondered each phrase of the entire statement. For instance, I knew without a doubt that life is not in matter or mortality, because man lives now, and is active. I also affirmed that there is no truth in matter or evil, because man is upright and complete, here and now; that there is no intelligence in matter, for true consciousness and understanding are spiritual; and that there is no substance in matter, for man is free, whole, and eternal, and these qualities are spiritual. I then realized that since God fills all space, there is no place left for anything else—including any false beliefs called stroke or paralysis, impairment or injury.
I continued this way, thinking through the remainder of "the scientific statement of being," and afterward I prayed in a similar manner, using the first verse of the poem "The Mother's Evening Prayer" mentioned earlier. All the while I was grateful for the love shown by those around me—in offering me a cool drink of water and taking me into the farmhouse to lie down.
My young sister told me later that when she became aware of the situation she began praying, knowing that God is all-acting and that man, His idea, could not be denied the harmony of real activity. At one point I tried to speak and ask for a Christian Science practitioner. Though the words were not clear, my family got the message and placed a call. They were unable to reach anyone. Nevertheless I seemed to be entirely without fear; through prayer my thought was so close to God, Truth, that fear didn't have any place to take hold. In about thirty minutes I was able to speak clearly. I rested another thirty minutes, after which we completed the trip happily. I have never again suffered from such symptoms.
I am most grateful for Christ Jesus, who came to light the way of spiritual understanding for mankind. I am also grateful for Mrs. Eddy, who discovered that this understanding is ever available and who shared with the world her book Science and Health, which is the means to this understanding. I am thankful to be able to grow in grace each day.
Santee, California
