It was Christmas day. I had flown to Florida to spend Christmas with my mother, and while I was there I wanted to help her in any way I could. She had been complaining that a large poinsettia on the balcony was taking a beating in the wind. So I offered to move it closer to the building, where it would be protected and where she could also see it better. I went out onto the balcony, and she followed on my heels, giving instructions and voicing concerns.
As I lifted the heavy ceramic pot with the plant inside, my focus was on my mother rather than on what I was doing. The next thing I knew, I was falling. I hit the ground without even trying to break my fall, my whole left side landing on the concrete, arms and legs bare, in a tank top, shorts, and sandals.
My very first thought was of testimonies I’d read in the Christian Science Sentinel where people described being healed after falling. At the same time, I also recalled testimonies that began, “It was Christmas day ….” In other words, as I lay stunned and sprawled on my mother’s concrete balcony, my very first thoughts were of Christian Science healing.
