A number of years ago, I began to experience severe pain in one hip and leg whenever I tried to sit or bend in any way. I could stand and walk but could not lie down in any position except on my back. I realized that I couldn’t continue to live alone, so my son brought me to his home. After several days we realized I needed more care than he and his wife could give me, so I was taken to a Christian Science nursing facility.
I was lovingly welcomed there and was so grateful for this safe haven. The knowledge that I was being well cared for without burdening my family was a tremendous relief. All around me was an atmosphere of quiet support and the expectation of healing. A Christian Science practitioner was praying for me, and now Christian Science nurses were there 24 hours a day to help me with meals, showering, and whatever else was needed.
If I wanted to, I could listen to Christian Science hymns or recordings of the Christian Science Bible Lesson, articles on Christian Science, or Christian Science lectures. I also had the Bible, Mary Baker Eddy’s writings, and all the current Christian Science periodicals within reach next to my bed, and I spent most of my time studying, thinking, and praying. It felt as if all of my more than 70 years as a Christian Scientist—everything I’d learned, all the healings and spiritual growth of those years—were now supporting me. I did have occasional moments of discouragement and even times when I called the practitioner in panic in the middle of the night. She was always able to help me lift my thinking back up above fear. Through it all I never lost sight of the great underlying truth that my true being was spiritual, and that the testimony of the material senses, claiming pain and disability, was simply not the reality of who I was. My improvement was gradual but steady.
