NO BRIGHT LIGHT FLASHED OVER 23 PARADISE ROAD. It was just an ordinary Sunday for most people in town. But on that day in 1866 a seriously injured woman opened her Bible to Matthew 9:2 and was instantly healed of her injuries.
Over the centuries countless people have read that Bible verse. So what was so special about that reading on that day, when Mary Baker Eddy was healed? The healing she experienced took place as a result of a sudden insight into these words in Matthew: "And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee."
She later explained to her students that the spiritual meaning of the passage illuminated her thought, and she suddenly saw "... Life in and of Spirit; this Life being the sole reality of existence" (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 24). This sudden realization of God, Mind, as an infinite, loving presence, healed her. That Bible verse spoke to her, and she was convinced that what came to her then was its true and inspired meaning. From this experience was born her lifework of making that meaning understandable to everyone.
