THREE SUMMERS AGO, while I was working as the corral program head at a Christian Science camp, I experienced a healing that taught me the power of divine Love and God's care.
It was the first day of a new session, and we had assigned a horse to each camper. The campers then caught their horses, tied them up, and saddled them. One horse got scared and pulled back from the railing she was tied to. I immediately told the campers to move away and went to untie the horse. As I approached, she spooked, reared up, and struck my face and stomach with her front feet. I was knocked unconscious, during which time a Christian Science practitioner and nurse arrived and prayed for me on the spot. When I woke up, a fellow counselor helped the nurse and the practitioner move me to an area away from the campers and horses, while other counselors attended to the campers. All I remember muttering was, "Keep the campers busy. Make sure they get out on their ride." The counselor smiled and commented on how devoted I was to the program, and that that devotion couldn't be broken, hindered, or hurt. He reminded me that "accidents are unknown to God ..." (Science and Health, p. 424), and that as the perfect child of God, I had never been outside of His omnipotent care.
Because the truths of Christian Science have healed me throughout my life, I had no desire for a medical evaluation. I was transported to the Christian Science nursing facility on the property, where I was laid in a bed, as the practitioner held my hand and smiled at me, speaking words of love and comfort. Though the bleeding was not extensive, I was suffering from what appeared to be multiple head and face fractures, a dislocated hip, broken thigh, and severe internal injuries.
It was hard to stay focused on complex thoughts of truth, but I could feel the expression of God's love radiating from those around me. The practitioner asked me to think about the people in my life who loved and cared for me. She told me to cherish that love and to hold to what I absolutely knew was true. That truth was that the love of my family and close friends has its source in God, divine Love, and proves the presence of my Father-Mother in my life. As the practitioner sat on the bed prayerfully supporting me, I felt an overwhelming sense of God's care. I started crying tears of joy.
In a short time, I was able, with help, to get to the bathroom where I washed up and put on clean clothes. I continued to hold to the irreversible truth of God's love for me. I also thought about my feeling of responsibility for the corral program. I knew that God was the true director of the program. Divine Mind had been guiding each activity all along, and my absence couldn't be a hindrance to that divine nurturing and guidance.
The next step in my prayer was to forgive the horse. I treasured the fact that all creatures are ideas of God and therefore can't harm one another. The horse and I were both perfect ideas of Love and coexisted in complete harmony.
As I forgave the horse for any seeming wrongdoing and released the feeling of responsibility for the program, the pain started to ease. Friends came to visit and brought notes of love and inspiration. My brother, who was also a counselor, came and sat with me. He read the Weekly Christian Science Bible Lesson to me, and attended to my every need. I was experiencing the proof of this spiritual law: "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need" (Science and Health, p. 494).
That evening, I walked with the help of a dear friend to a nearby cabin, where we ate ice cream and watched a movie. The "everlasting arms of Love" spoken of in a hymn (John R. Macduff, Christian Science Hymnal, No. 53) continued to support me and to enable me to see past the picture of accident and injury.
Later, as I rested, I prayed for a deeper understanding of God's love, which was caring for the campers, the horse, and me. A passage from Mary Baker Eddy's book Rudimental Divine Science provided great encouragement: "Christian Science erases from the minds of invalids their mistaken belief that they live in or because of matter, or that a so-called material organism controls the health or existence of mankind, and induces rest in God, divine Love, as caring for all the conditions requisite for the well-being of men" (p. 12). I understood that because my true identity is an expression of the divine Mind, that perfect Mind was governing my actions, my body, my health. And because Mind is divine Love (as explained in Christian Science, these are both synonymous terms for God), I could experience only goodness—as had already been so wonderfully expressed in the compassion and kindness of those around me.
The very next morning, I was eating normal food and drove myself out to watch campers ride in the arena. In six days I was completely healed and back on my horse, laughing with the campers and attending to my normal activities. I have suffered no side effects, lasting injuries or fears, and have ridden and worked with horses ever since.
I am so grateful for the omnipotence of Love, and for a clearer understanding of the truth that concludes that wonderful hymn (No. 53):
... Safe in His encircling arms,
He will keep us all the way,
God, our refuge, strength and stay.
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