While on holiday in the Caribbean in 1992, we were taken to explore a coral reef out in a bay. Thoughtlessly, I took no protective footwear. We snorkled over the area, and when I wanted a rest I stood on what appeared to be ordinary sand but was actually part of the reef. At the end of the day I felt something unusual on the sole of one foot. My wife examined the spot and removed a small solid object— apparently a piece of coral. She has had medical training but respects my wishes as a Christian Scientist. I accepted her suggestion that a cavity that had formed in my foot be kept clean, and I applied a bandage.
My thoughts and prayers were directed toward the totally spiritual and perfect nature of man as God made him. This fact is established in the first chapter of Genesis, where we read (verse 27), "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." We read in Science and Health, "A spiritual idea has not a single element of error, and this truth removes properly whatever is offensive" (p. 463). I knew that it was my birthright to understand the truth of these messages.
The next day, after I had walked a great deal, it felt as though something was still embedded in the foot. Two small, sharp slivers came out, and this occurred again the next day. At this point my wife was concerned that the pressure caused by walking would push any remaining fragments deeper into the flesh, and that lancing might be necessary to ensure they were all removed. However, I continued to treat the problem through prayer, and by reading reassuring statements of God's all-power and of His love and care for all of His children. The following day a large sliver came away and, with that, all discomfort ceased and the cavity closed. The incident did not restrict my activities at all. Pain, fear, and infection were not victorious, because I held to the spiritual truth about God and man as understood through the teachings of Christian Science.
