In November 2017, I began to experience some difficulty with one side of my face. My smile was crooked, one eye would not blink, and the eyebrow on that side was lower than the one on the other side. I did not look like myself, and I was frightened.
I began to pray, reasoning that God, who is good only, did not cause this. But I felt very fearful, so I contacted a Christian Science practitioner—someone who is in the public practice of healing through metaphysical treatment as taught in Christian Science. I expressed my fear and was comforted by the practitioner’s peaceful response. I was assured of God’s loving care for me and was also reminded of a Bible passage that says, “I will put my spirit within you” (Ezekiel 36:27). This promise contrasts sharply with the world’s declaration that says we are made of matter and all of the beliefs that go along with this view. I was encouraged to accept only the thoughts that God gives me—the spirit of Truth and Love. I clung to these promises over the next couple of days.
A family member sent me an article titled “Healing—because there is no fear in the allness of Love” by Carol Dee Lewis, from the April 2014 issue of The Christian Science Journal. The loving message of this article spoke to me so clearly and specifically, like a direct message from God. I felt that I understood for the first time, at least to some degree, that fear could not stop God’s love or the power to heal—that God was bigger than this! And with this conviction the fear dissolved. I now genuinely felt this was an opportunity rather than a challenge.
I continued to pray and to communicate with the practitioner on a nearly daily basis, and I felt refreshed and inspired each time we communicated. Thanksgiving was approaching, and I was looking forward to a commitment I’d made to sing in a trio with my daughter at her Christian Science branch church’s Thanksgiving service. I was also planning to attend a large Thanksgiving gathering with this daughter’s in-laws and family. On one hand, I wanted to hide away and not be seen, but on the other hand, I reasoned, what better place to be for Thanksgiving than with a group of fellow Christians who knew how to look beyond what the eye can see?
It was a joyful church service! Afterward, I attended the large Thanksgiving dinner festivities, which included a time for each individual to express gratitude. I knew there was some concern about my condition, but it wasn’t specifically mentioned and the atmosphere was permeated with love for one another.
I no longer hesitated in going about my daily business, which included being out and about and interacting with others. I was not going to hide away, but instead I acknowledged that others would be able to see me as God sees me. I was experiencing such positive change in my thinking, and I saw evidence of progress in the physical situation as well.
My desire to draw closer to God hour by hour was bearing fruit. Whether I was falling asleep at bedtime, waking up in the middle of the night, or rising to start a new day, my thoughts were focused on my Father-Mother God and Her love for me as Her expression.
The practitioner shared a helpful point from Mrs. Eddy’s spiritual sense of the Lord’s Prayer. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures we read:
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in
heaven.
Enable us to know,—as in heaven,
so on earth,—God is
omnipotent, supreme.
(p. 17)
This does not say, enable us to imagine, but to know. This really struck a chord with me. There was no imagining going on—there was only knowing! And I could know what God knows. I could bring my life into clearer focus using the lens of Spirit and spiritual sense, instead of the physical senses.
I also regularly included the world in my prayers, knowing that each step of my progress was not just for me but could have a broader effect. My prayers could help replace fear and frustration with hope, patience, and an expectation of good for the world.
Within about two and a half weeks, the healing was complete. My face looked normal and functioned properly, and it has remained so. It felt so natural to be lifted out of a false view of myself and to express my identity as God knows me. I’m deeply grateful for a growing understanding of God as All, and of my purpose to bear witness to this fact.
Marsha Rockabrand
Renton, Washington, US
