I was introduced to Christian Science by a coworker many years ago. In the forty years since I first learned of Christian Science, I have experienced firsthand its healing effect. One healing took place at the start of 2021.
One evening in January I noticed a slight discomfort in my lower back. I thought nothing of it then, but by the next morning it was quite painful. Although I did not seek a medical diagnosis, long before I was introduced to Christian Science I’d spent much time with a relative who had been diagnosed with kidney stones. His vivid description of the symptoms had made quite an impression on me at the time. Now it seemed I was experiencing the same problem. It made sleeping very difficult and driving impossible. I contacted a Christian Science practitioner for treatment through prayer. This prayer is based on the Bible and the spiritual laws given there, laws that are further revealed in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
While I experienced some relief, over time I began feeling quite discouraged. But one day I was greatly uplifted by a statement from another of Mrs. Eddy’s writings: “Remember, thou canst be brought into no condition, be it ever so severe, where Love has not been before thee and where its tender lesson is not awaiting thee” (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, pp. 149–150). This experience certainly felt far more severe than any health challenge I had previously experienced. I definitely wanted the discomfort to stop, but I really wanted to learn Love’s—God’s—“tender lesson”!
