Several Years Ago a painful and fairly large lump appeared on my neck, almost overnight. Swallowing and eating became increasingly difficult, and this seemed to be a serious threat to my life and health. As a lifelong Christian Scientist, I have experienced many healings that have demonstrated the power and presence of God, and this picture did not square with what I knew to be true: that man is innately spiritual and harmonious, tenderly cared for by a loving God; not a vulnerable mortal or subject to destructive physical forces.
So I began to pray to God for a better understanding of my true spiritual nature, and this became my principal activity over the next five days. I also asked a friend, who is an experienced Christian Science practitioner, to give me specific treatment through prayer and provide me with some references to study. He offered me only one citation, from Science and Health, "Allow nothing but His likeness to abide in your thought" (p. 495).
I saw that it was impossible for me to hold something in my thought that wasn't known to God. Christian Science explains that our Father-Mother, God, is exclusively good and is the only Mind or consciousness there is or can be. Since God neither creates nor knows abnormality of any kind, as God's image and likeness, I couldn't know or experience it either. I reasoned that without a place in consciousness, the abnormality couldn't be found in me and that the appearance of a lump could only be an illusion.
