When I was in extreme pain last year and could barely walk, I decided I should go to a Christian Science nursing facility. At the time, I thought I had a pretty complete picture of how everything worked at the nursing facility and what would happen when I was a patient. How wrong I was! Although I had served on the board of this particular facility, and had stayed there before—not as a patient but for a few days of rest and study—I couldn’t have imagined the depth of love that would be expressed by the Christian Science nurses and staff.
After discussing my circumstances on the phone with one of the head Christian Science nurses at the facility, I was accepted for admission. A friend kindly agreed to take me there in her car, and within the hour we were on our way. While en route, I called a Christian Science practitioner listed in the Journal to ask for treatment, and she lovingly agreed to pray for me.
From the moment I arrived, I could feel the love and healing atmosphere. After I was brought to my room in a wheelchair, the Director of Christian Science Nursing came to talk to me. My physical discomfort was obvious. In the middle of asking me a few necessary questions for my admission, he paused and said very quietly, “The Comforter is here—the Comforter is right here.” I get tears in my eyes when I think of that moment, because it was said so tenderly and truthfully. I felt the Christ, defined in Christian Science as the Holy Ghost, or divine Comforter, right there with me, comforting me, sustaining me, and healing me. I was able to do the necessary paperwork, and the pain just melted away like an ice cube sitting on a sunny windowsill.
I was so touched by the wonderful care given to me by the entire staff and grateful for the prayers of the Christian Science practitioner. I had always seen Christian Science nurses as wonderful people whose work supports the spiritual healing a practitioner is praying for, but I had never fully appreciated the full scope of what they do. In addition to serving me my meals and helping me with my practical day-to-day care, they read to me, sang hymns to me, and shared healing ideas with me. They truly possessed the Christ-spirit that Jesus lived and practiced. Every one of my needs was anticipated and met. I hadn’t eaten much when I arrived the first day, and after being given a delicious meal I settled in for the evening to pray, fully expecting healing.
For the two weeks I remained at the nursing facility, I received treatment from the practitioner, and I talked to her every day. These talks were wonderful, because we’d focus on some aspect of the weekly Bible Lesson from the Christian Science Quarterly and how to apply the spiritual truths it brought out. All of my concerns were immediately dealt with and dissolved through the practitioner’s prayers, such as my inability to stand upright, and who was going to care for the people I was responsible for at home, as well as my dog. Each member of my family ended up being beautifully cared for, and all the human details fell into place as my thought was being uplifted to a truer sense of my spiritual identity as God’s child. More and more, I was seeing myself as the upright, whole, complete idea of God, made in His image and likeness.
My stay at the nursing facility was such a special time, I was almost sorry to leave for home! But I knew I could never, in reality, leave the atmosphere of Love, because we can never be separated from God, who is Love.
After returning home, the practitioner prayed for me for a few more days, and I was so grateful for the continued steady progress. I am now back to doing the things I did before, with complete freedom, and I am able to serve my church and family members again.
I will forever cherish the professions of Christian Science nursing and healing, and the Christian Science nurses and practitioners who serve in those professions. The healing work they do makes them beacons of light in our communities, and blesses each and every one of us.
Nancy Krussel
Aberdeen, Washington, US
