Many years ago, when I was wading through some seaweed in the water at the beach, my foot was cut just below the ankle—probably by a large broken seashell.
There was no convenient place to clean the deep wound that was bleeding profusely, so I wrapped up the foot with my T-shirt and had my girlfriend (now my wife) drive me home. During the long car trip, I prayed a little and kept my thoughts elevated and joyous. I wasn’t too concerned about the cut. Growing up, I’d often had cuts, scrapes, and skinned knees, and they’d always healed quickly.
When I arrived home, I cleaned the wound with soap and water as best I could and placed a bandage on it. The next day while showering, I noticed that there was still some drainage coming from the wound. And while getting dressed for work, I found that my foot had swollen to the extent that I couldn’t get my shoe on. For the next few days I had to wear slippers, as well as socks, to hide the discoloration of the foot.
Many people at the office noticed that I was wearing slippers, asked me questions, and suggested that I see a doctor. Some knew I was a Christian Scientist, and that added a sense of pressure on me to heal this quickly, since I felt that my religion was being judged.
After a couple of days, the swelling and discoloration of my foot started spreading up my leg. That’s when fear set in, and I called my Christian Science teacher that night. He reminded me of a passage in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy: “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).
We talked about the definitions of God and man in the Glossary of Science and Health: “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). “Man. The compound idea of infinite Spirit; the spiritual image and likeness of God; the full representation of Mind” (p. 591).
Once the spiritual basis of man’s existence was established in my thought, we denounced and ruled out anything unspiritual, such as physicality and impurity, because nothing but good can be part of God’s image and likeness.
This talk with my teacher cleansed all thought of material debris and contamination from my consciousness. By the time we hung up, I knew I was healed.
The next morning I saw that the discharge had stopped, the wound had mended properly, and the discoloration was gone. I was able to get my shoe on for the first time in days. Complete healing followed quickly, and I had no further issues with the foot.
John Ranges
Indialantic, Florida, US
