ABOUT 18 MONTHS AGO when I was working as a Christian Science nurse, I went to stay for a few days with someone who needed care 24/7. The day before I was to be relieved on this case, I was helping the patient get up out of bed in the morning, and strained my back. There was a great deal to do that day, and after the initial feeling that something was very wrong, I remembered what Mary Baker Eddy said in Science and Health, "Whatever it is your duty to do, you can do without harm to yourself" (p. 385).
I declared silently that I was indeed doing my duty, so I could definitely not suffer from that effort. I also remembered a Bible verse "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength," (Is. 40:31). As the day progressed, the patient and I read the Christian Science Bible Lesson for that week. The subject was "Matter," and as we read I was able to gain some understanding of myself—and the one for whom I was caring—as being entirely spiritual, and not under any material laws. This became clearer and clearer to me as we moved through the inspired truths in each section of the Lesson. I was able to attend to all the needs of the day, albeit with nagging pain.
However, by late evening I felt overwhelmed by the symptoms, and was unable to stand or sit. Even when I could lie down, I felt no relief. Throughout the night I prayed as well as I could with what I knew was really true about myself—that I am not a material body but a spiritual being, permanently under the law of divine Love. But it still felt like I was fighting a real battle. After a largely sleepless night, I called the Christian Science practitioner who was helping the person I was caring for. She emphatically told me, "You are not in that [other person's] dream," and led me to a citation from the Bible Lesson, "Harmonious action proceeds from Spirit, God" (Science and Health, p. 480). I quickly saw that the only action there was, or ever had been, was harmonious, and that this action did not proceed from my body or my back, but from Spirit, God.
