When I was a girl about twelve, I loved to swim and dive at a nearby lake. I would go to the top of the twenty-foot diving platform and dive off. There were some boys who liked to tease me, and one day they pushed me off. Not being in control, I fell to the side, and my arm hit an eight-foot diving board below. I thought I was all right until I reached shore. Then I found I could not use my left arm, which was very painful. I went home to my mother immediately. My mother and I talked together about God and His love for me, affirming the truths in Mary Baker Eddy's statement 'Accidents are unknown to God, or immortal Mind, and we must leave the mortal basis of belief and unite with the one Mind, in order to change the notion of chance to the proper sense of God's unerring direction and thus bring out harmony.
"Under divine Providence there can be no accidents, since there is no room for imperfection in perfection" ( Science and Health, p. 424).
I wore a sling to support my arm. At dinnertime, my father was very concerned about me. Not being a Christian Scientist as my mother was, he felt that if my arm wasn't better by the time dinner was over, I should see a doctor. My mother called a practitioner to support her own prayer, and I myself was expecting a healing. But as there was no immediate evidence of improvement, my dad took me to a hospital emergency room. On the way there, I suddenly felt free of pain, and had a great sense of freedom. I was taken to an X-ray room and the arm was X-rayed. The doctor then told us that there had been a break in the arm, but the X-ray showed that the bone had set beautifully and was already healed. He said whoever had set the arm had been a very fine physician. I was able to use my arm immediately, and had its full use. I could always refer to this experience of a complete healing that came in a few hours. What a staff it was to lean on as I grew into womanhood.
