"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Prov. 3:5, 6). I learned these two verses while I was a pupil in the Christian Science Sunday School. I used them often when preparing for tests and even in the middle of examinations during my college years as reminders of God's unerring direction and ever-present help. They took on special meaning for me when I was healed of a severe injury to my ankle.
I had had a wonderful time that day skiing. Although it had become quite late, I had decided to take another run down the mountain. About halfway down the slope, I fell and my ski came off. I managed to retrieve the ski and put it back on. But when I tried to stand up, I was surprised to find that the pain in one ankle was so severe that I couldn't stand on it at all. I was taken to the bottom of the slope by the ski patrol on a sled. A member of the ski patrol wrapped the ankle and recommended that I go immediately to the hospital to have it X-rayed. Instead, I asked my friend to take me home.
On the way, I repeated "the scientific statement of being" (see Science and Health, p. 468) to myself. By the time we arrived at my home, I felt very calm and free from fear. I decided not to go to the hospital but to call a Christian Science practitioner for treatment through prayer instead. The practitioner asked me to continue to study "the scientific statement of being" and also the definition of man from Science and Health (see p. 591). I did this for the next several days and kept in touch with the practitioner, but the ankle remained swollen and extremely painful.
