A couple of years ago, on my way home from a Christian Science lecture, the traffic I was in on a busy interstate came to a standstill. As I looked in my rearview mirror, I saw that the truck behind me was not going to stop in time. Immediately, I turned away from looking in the mirror and said out loud, “No! There are no accidents in God’s kingdom!” As my car was impacted and launched to the median, avoiding collisions with other vehicles, but flipping and then tumbling to a stop, I was affirming over and over, “I am safe in God’s care right now.”
I found myself sitting on the roof inside the upside-down car, with a copy of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy by my side. I grabbed the book and climbed out the back window as people offered their help. I called my wife and mother for support. My mom, who was on her way home from the same Christian Science lecture, assured me that I was well and had never been out of God’s care.
First responders quickly came to the scene to help. They did their jobs examining me, demonstrating great love and kindness. I graciously declined going to the emergency room, explaining that I wanted to go home to my family.
As my wife arrived and we began to drive home, we prayed to know that God was in control and continued to assert that there are no accidents in God’s kingdom. I was stiff and hurting, also fearful of “what if” scenarios, and knew that I had a choice to make in terms of where I would turn for healing.
The decision was very clear to me. I knew that Christian Science treatment was thorough and permanent, and I wanted to rely on Christian Science. However, I felt that my understanding of God might not be strong enough. I yearned to better understand God and my relation to God as His child. That is where I began some deep study of Christian Science.
At home, I immediately called a Christian Science practitioner for support. We started working with the following premise stated in Science and Health: “The Christlike understanding of scientific being and divine healing includes a perfect Principle and idea, —perfect God and perfect man,—as the basis of thought and demonstration” (p. 259). I liked the idea that I am already spiritual and perfect, created by God in His image and likeness as stated in the first chapter of Genesis. I need not try to attain perfection or wholeness and health; rather, that is my inherent state and starting point.
I prayed to have a better understanding of what I am and how God created me. I started by looking up the definition of man in Science and Health. The definition states that as this spiritual man we are all “the compound idea of infinite Spirit; the spiritual image and likeness of God; the full representation of Mind” (p. 591).
I decided to list qualities that God expresses in me: faithfulness, strength, ability, steadfastness, understanding, flexibility, mobility, health, and wholeness. I affirmed that these qualities that God created define me rather than physicality. As the “full representation of Mind” I am whole and complete. Therefore, I cannot be broken, fractured, or separated from God in any way.
From there, I yearned to know more about God, to feel God’s presence and understand His greatness. Once again, I turned to Science and Health and studied this definition: “God. The great I am; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence” (p. 587).
While thinking about the greatness of God, I felt an overwhelming sense of God’s presence saying, “I have always been here, all along. Never for one moment have we been separated.” I realized that when I had those glimpses, good feelings, or inspired thoughts, that was indeed God speaking to me, leading me, and comforting me. My fears were yielding to trust, and I began to feel physical improvement.
A week later, for insurance purposes, I was advised to go to a medical facility to get checked out. I complied and visited a doctor, who did some tests.
When I got home, I received an alarming call from the doctor, who said that I immediately needed to go to the emergency room. He said that this was a serious situation; that I had a compressed fracture in my neck. He then made frightening predictions about what might happen if I wasn’t treated.
I went to the emergency room feeling quite scared, and I prayed to calm my thoughts. While waiting for X-rays to be taken and assessed, and undergoing various other tests, I prayed with the Lord’s Prayer as given by Christ Jesus, since Science and Health describes it as the “prayer which covers all human needs” (p. 16). I also found it helpful to study Mrs. Eddy’s spiritual interpretation of this prayer, including the following:
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil;
And God leadeth us not into temptation, but delivereth us from sin, disease, and death.
(Science and Health, p. 17)
I prayed to know and understand that God is protecting me and others from evil’s apparent hold. God is delivering and lifting us out of mortal beliefs. Simply put, I was working to know and understand that this entire experience, labeled as dangerous and hurtful, “never happened,” which was something the practitioner and I had discussed on our first call.
In a little while, a doctor arrived, and I remember he said, “You are stable.” He explained that some damaged vertebrae had fused back together and he felt I wasn’t in danger. I was filled with such deep gratitude that flooded over me because I could feel God’s all-knowing, all-acting, all-presence, and power. “Huh,” I thought. “Stability is definitely a word I will add to the list of spiritual qualities that I include as an expression of God.”
My study and prayer didn’t stop there. I was able to take several weeks off from work and used this time to fully delve into studying Science and Health, continuing to feel God’s presence and understand that the message of the Christ is always working. I also read a biography titled Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Healer by Yvonne Caché von Fettweis and Robert Townsend Warneck.
A few months after the incident, I was able to go whitewater rafting and be very active without side-effects or problems. I also attended class instruction with the practitioner (who is also a Christian Science teacher and who helped me through this experience).
It has been over two years since this healing took place. I am completely free and able to move with ease.
Jeffrey S. Peake
Harrisonburg, Virginia, US
