I am so grateful to have been raised a Christian Scientist, and even more grateful that I have Christian Science to rely upon in raising our two children. It is indispensable to me, and I would like to relate the following healings as proof of God's love and care for His children.
In 1989, when our son was two years old, there was an epidemic of chickenpox at his preschool. I wrongly allowed myself to believe that it was inevitable for the boy to contract this disease, and I became very fearful. Soon I noticed a few spots on him that looked like chickenpox. At first I was tempted to keep checking his physical condition. Then a strong thought came to me that the real, spiritual man is not under the jurisdiction of material or medical law. In Christian Science, man is governed exclusively by God's law of harmony.
I called a Christian Science practitioner for help through prayer for our son. Two passages from Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy were particularly helpful to me: "When the first symptoms of disease appear, dispute the testimony of the material senses with divine Science"; also, "Instead of blind and calm submission to the incipient or advanced stages of disease, rise in rebellion against them." Psalm 139, beginning "Whither shall I go from thy spirit?" was very comforting to me as well, because it assured me that none of us is ever for an instant out of God's care.
It was so clear to me that our son, as a spiritual idea of God, was innocent and pure, and that God was the only power involved. My fear of the physical disease dissolved. No more spots appeared that day, and by the second day his skin was perfectly clear.
Shortly after this healing, when our son was three, one evening he fell against the sharp corner of a chair and struck his temple. There was much bleeding and the wound seemed quite deep. My husband, who is also a Christian Scientist, helped me clean and bandage his head. At the same time, we began to assure our son that God's presence surrounded him. He had been attending the Christian Science Sunday School for the past year and had been learning that God is the only power and that He is always with us. We also sang a hymn from the Christian Science Hymnal, with words from Mrs. Eddy's poem "The Mother's Evening Prayer." It begins, "O gentle presence, peace and joy and power."
I called a practitioner for help because the injury was very alarming. Our son was soon quiet and went to sleep peacefully at bedtime. The ninety-first Psalm was very comforting as he went to sleep, especially the line "He shall cover thee with his feathers." I felt as though the burden of his care was lifted from me as his human mother. God was his true Father-Mother, and He would care for His child. The description of man given in Science and Health was also very helpful (see pp. 475–477).
In the morning I felt it wise to have a Christian Science nurse clean the wound, so I took our son to a local Christian Science care facility. There was such a healing, loving atmosphere there that I felt completely at peace. When the nurse was finished, she said that our son did not even need a bandage because the wound was completely closed. Words cannot express my joy and gratitude for his complete healing.
More recently, in the autumn of 1991, our three-year-old daughter, while on the playground at her preschool, was stung twice by a hornet. I called a practitioner before I left to pick her up, and the practitioner reminded me that nothing in God's creation could harm man.
When I arrived at school, her teachers expressed some concern that our daughter might already be experiencing an allergic reaction to the stings. I thanked them for their concern, took her home, and made her comfortable. I called the practitioner back and relayed that I was fearful because of the teachers' predictions. I began to study references in the Bible and Science and Health to the words poison and attack. From this study, I realized that God, divine Mind, was the only cause and that His effect could be only good. My fear quickly disappeared. I realized that my thinking was being "attacked" by the world's belief that God's perfect creation includes poisonous elements.
Our daughter was peaceful and free of pain within thirty minutes of the incident. A few hours later there was absolutely no sign of either sting.
Through Christian Science prayer, our children have also been healed quickly of severe earaches, coughs, and high fevers. How grateful I am to have Christian Science to turn to, and to know that, as Mrs. Eddy writes, "divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need."
Dallas, Texas
