About a year ago, I noticed that an area in my abdomen was occasionally painful. I started praying to strengthen my conviction that only the qualities of God can develop within me. The pain lessened.
Yet, because I could not see what was happening within, fearful thoughts constantly returned. I found courage from these words by the Discoverer of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy: “. . . ‘The kingdom of God is within you.’ Know, then, that you possess sovereign power to think and act rightly, and that nothing can dispossess you of this heritage and trespass on Love. If you maintain this position, who or what can cause you to sin or suffer?” (Pulpit and Press, p. 3).
Eventually, however, the pain became constant, with swelling that began to interfere with my sleep. I decided to call a Christian Science practitioner for help. She arrested my thought when she said it was time for me to welcome this as an opportunity to take a mental stand and cast out the symptoms as suggestions. “Are you material or spiritual?” she asked. “Which is it?”
