Early in 2009, I got up one morning and had difficulty keeping my balance. As I walked, I had to lean on the walls to steady myself to keep from stumbling. I went back to bed, not giving the situation much thought and thinking it would be better after I stayed in bed a while longer.
When I got up, I still had the same difficulty, and as I talked to my wife, I found I was slurring my speech. I had to talk very slowly and deliberately to make myself understood. Later, when I tried to pay some bills, I had difficulty writing the checks. My hand seemed to be out of control, and my handwriting was very sloppy.
The thought of a stroke came, and it occurred to me that I should probably get a substitute to take my place for the following Sunday at the jail where I assist in presenting the weekly Christian Science Bible Lesson-Sermon for inmates. I remember wondering how long it might take to see the truth of my being, as a child of God, intact and whole. But as I considered this, it came to me that this was a right activity and I didn’t have to let material conditions keep me from my post. I held to the fact that since I was made in God’s image and likeness, I was perfect right then—governed by His power only.
