Some years back, my wife took our son to the doctor for a checkup, which his new school required. After the checkup, the doctor said that although our boy was strong and healthy, the exam revealed that he had an undescended testicle. She said that they would have to do a scan of his body to determine whether surgery was needed. She told us that the problem might resolve itself, but that could take time, maybe several years. My wife, who is not a Christian Scientist, agreed to let me pray about this situation for a week before our son’s next scheduled doctor’s appointment.
I’ve always found my early morning walks to be a quiet, calm time to pray, so for the next week I prayed during my walks, focusing on the fact that we are children of God and, “whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it” (Ecclesiastes 3:14). I also prayed with the idea that everything in God’s kingdom, which is infinite, was in its rightful place, and always had been. I knew that it wasn’t about matter moving in a body. It was about glimpsing a more spiritual view of what was already present in my son’s life—absolute spiritual perfection. I also continued my study of the Bible and of Mary Baker Eddy’s textbook of healing, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and stuck with ideas from these books for my daily inspiration.
The next week, my wife and I took our son back to the doctor, where they examined him again. I was fully expecting the doctor to tell us that all was well. Instead, she told us that she had been mistaken at the first exam and that actually neither testicle had descended. I was shocked, but then resolved not to be impressed and vowed to keep praying.
