I was introduced to Christian Science when I finished high school and began studying and practicing it. I had some healings by relying on prayer, but after several years my devotion to Christian Science faded, and I stopped reading any Christian Science literature. Although God was always in my thoughts, it was not until several years ago, when I started suffering from uncontrollable muscle spasms, that I came back to Christian Science.
I had gone to see my regular doctor, but after several visits and tests, she told me she could not explain why this was happening. She suggested it could be a neurological issue, and she scheduled me for a brain CT scan. I was terrified, and while waiting at the clinic for the CT scan, I felt so much fear in everyone waiting around me as well.
During the scan, I began repeating to myself what I remembered from “the scientific statement of being” found in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy (see p. 468). At that time I could only remember some of the lines in Spanish, and I really didn’t understand the full meaning of them. But I felt that this was my only hope, and I just repeated the few lines I remembered over and over.
Suddenly, the procedure was finished. The thirty minutes under the CT machine had seemed like just a minute. I felt that this was a sign that my prayers had made a difference. During the following few days, as I waited for the results, I tried to stay calm. And I also went online and subscribed to the Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lessons, The Christian Science Journal, and the Concord study program.
Science and Health says: “Waking to Christ’s demand, mortals experience suffering. This causes them, even as drowning men, to make vigorous efforts to save themselves; and through Christ’s precious love these efforts are crowned with success” (p. 22).
I felt like that was what was happening with me. As I learned more about applying the teachings of Christ Jesus in my life, I definitely struggled, but I knew these efforts would have their reward. I started reading the Bible Lesson every day and investigating the Bible and Mrs. Eddy’s writings and the articles and testimonies in the Journal.
A few days later the results of the CT exam came back negative. The doctor still could not determine the problem and asked me to see a neuro specialist and to pray. After thinking about it for a day or two, I decided not to see the neuro specialist but just to pray. I was already doing that anyway.
The symptoms increased during those days, and especially at night, sometimes so much that I could not sleep. I was also having a very difficult time at work, especially with my boss, as I felt I was being treated with disrespect and unfairness.
I decided to contact a Christian Science practitioner, and I told her how I felt at work and my fear about my physical condition. She agreed to pray for me, and she gave me some citations from the Bible and Science and Health. I read them over and over, trying to understand them; however, the fear did not dissipate.
The practitioner shared with me this verse: “It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect” (Psalms 18:32). I realized that I did understand the words, but I did not believe them. In the following days my condition improved slowly as I continued studying and praying on my own and believed more fully that my strength comes from God.
During that time I had a friend who was ill, so I decided to write him a letter expressing how grateful I was for Christian Science and how I had been healed and protected through prayer. While I was writing, expressing my gratitude to God and for Christian Science, tears were falling from my eyes as I recalled previous healing experiences. Sincerely overcome with gratitude, I suddenly felt a relief throughout my body, and it felt as though a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I knew I was on the right path to find out that I am truly a child of God.
That week I decided to attend the Sunday service at the local Christian Science branch church. I had not attended a service in many years, so I was nervous and afraid. That morning while I was getting ready, I turned on the TV to check the weather. The channel it was on was showing a paid religious program in which someone was talking about Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son (see Luke 15:11–24). I felt like I was the younger son who left home, sinned, and spent everything he had self-indulgently and in vain. But the end of that parable, in which the father lovingly welcomes his son home, gave me the conviction to attend the Sunday service.
After that, my spiritual growth advanced at a steady pace, and my physical health naturally improved as well. Within six months I regained my physical strength, the muscle spasms stopped, and I started to play in volleyball tournaments again.
I still had some obstacles to overcome, but I knew I could do so through Christian Science. One challenge was that I would experience intense pain for about a day after playing volleyball. Another was extreme muscle stiffness during the fall and winter when it was cold out, sometimes to the point that I could not walk.
I contacted another Christian Science practitioner, and she agreed to help me through prayer. She also encouraged me to memorize the Lord’s Prayer and “the scientific statement of being,” which I did.
Over a couple of weeks, with the help of the practitioner, my physical condition improved. But most importantly, my understanding about God and man took a turn for the better, and my thirst for a deeper understanding increased as I learned more from the Bible and Science and Health. I had read passages over and over in the past, but now their meanings were becoming clearer to me. For example, I could see how the First Commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3), corresponded to the first line of “the scientific statement of being”: “There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter.”
Only God has life, truth, intelligence, and substance. This reasoning led me to the conclusion, “Do not consider matter as your god.” It was a feeling of great joy to understand these passages after reading and repeating them so many times before.
That spiritual understanding healed the pain I had experienced for many years, and I was able to enjoy playing volleyball that entire summer free of pain. When summer was over and the cold weather came, the muscle stiffness I had suffered from when the temperature dropped—and my fear about it—just vanished.
I am so grateful for Christian Science, which is bringing me closer to God and giving me the tools to prove that we are all the children of God, created in His image and likeness.
Alvaro Polar
Roselle, New Jersey, US
