Several years ago, I first noticed a small red patch on my temple. It didn't hurt and was hardly noticeable, so it did not stir me into prayer about it. However, over the next few months, it began to enlarge until it was quite unsightly. By this time I had begun to pray about it, and was doing so daily. However, it continued to get bigger and became a painful sore that was very apparent. I began to cover it with a plaster so that others didn't have to see the ugly picture.
My prayer took the form of examining my thoughts. A verse from Psalms was constantly with me: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Ps. 51:10). I also daily insisted on claiming my spiritual perfection as the likeness of perfect God, Spirit.
It wasn't easy to deny the reality of what I was seeing in the mirror every time I combed my hair or powdered my nose. I remembered a story from many years ago about a young schoolboy whose mother had asked him to bring home a packet of tea after school that day. She had tied a piece of red string on his finger to remind him. His school friends, even his teacher, asked him what the string was for, and he told them. During the day, whenever his friends and even the teacher noticed the red string, they immediately reminded him about the tea he was to buy. The story-teller went on to explain that in a similar manner, we can use the problem itself as a reminder of what is true. I believe the turning point in my healing came when I was able to use the material picture to remind me to see the true, spiritual fact. As the months went by, this became easier to do.
