Some years ago, while attending a convention with my husband, I noticed I was having difficulty in climbing a few steps to board a bus taking us on a sightseeing tour. I ignored the problem at the time. Upon returning home, however, the problem intensified, and my joints and muscles became very painful. I then began praying, acknowledging my true identity as God's expression. When I could barely get up from a chair, I called a family member to pray with me.
Although I continued going to my office daily, I would come home feeling exhausted. I continued to persist in the knowledge that Christian Science heals. Two statements from Science and Health were my constant companions: "Rise in the conscious strength of the spirit of Truth to overthrow the plea of mortal mind, alias matter, arrayed against the supremacy of Spirit" (pp. 390-391), and "Exercise this God-given authority. Take possession of your body, and govern its feeling and action. Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed on man" (p. 393).
I was asked to be substitute Second Reader for Sunday church services several times during this period, and I accepted. Each time I recognized that I must be able to do what God had appointed me to do, and I was able to carry out this work lovingly and without fear. Still, complete healing did not seem evident. My husband and I had paid a large deposit on a trip. My husband suggested that we cancel the trip, but I assured him I felt this was God's gift, and He would support me each step of the way. This proved to be true. I was to give a very important talk in a distant state within a few months, and I was able to do this by "leaning on the sustaining infinite" (Science and Health, p. vii), knowing that what God appoints, He anoints. The day of the talk went beautifully. I also found a hymn from the Christian Science Hymnal (No. 139) very comforting. It starts out:
