One day several years ago, I was out running on a macadam path around a lake near my home. My young daughter was running with me, and I was encouraging her to keep running, as well as enjoying the beautiful scenery on what was a sunny fall day. At one point my foot came down hard on the edge of the running path, which I had been unable to see because of fallen leaves. My ankle twisted, and I tumbled to the ground. My daughter and I had a long and slow walk back to our car, but I was able to safely drive us home.
I then sat down to decide on a course of action. As a lifelong Christian Scientist, I wanted to rely on prayer for healing, and, in fact, I had been praying since the accident occurred. But the situation was painful and concerning, and I struggled with thinking that maybe I didn’t know enough about Christian Science to heal this injury. So, I decided I would get the ankle examined by a doctor and have it set if it was determined to be broken.
The doctor advised that I had a torn ligament and prescribed surgery, followed by six weeks in a walking boot, and then several more weeks of rehabilitation. This seemed like an awfully unfair outcome for an activity (running) that was intended to express joy and freedom! At that point I decided it was more than worthwhile to try relying on Christian Science for healing instead of going forward with surgery. I had experienced many prior healings in Christian Science, and I had often felt uplifted and encouraged by reading or hearing about other people’s testimonies of being healed through Christian Science. So, I called a Christian Science practitioner to pray for me.
