While I was working as a secretary for a member of The Christian Science Board of Lectureship I developed a painful condition in my hands. This was a very busy time, and it was most inconvenient that this problem interfered with my typing. I prayed earnestly in the words of Hymn No. 324 in the Christian Science Hymnal, "Take my hands, and let them move/At the impulse of Thy love." When I was able to see that the problem was a suggestion of mortal mind trying to interfere with the telling of the truth of God and man through this activity of lecturing, provided for in the Manual of The Mother Church by Mrs. Eddy, I was quickly healed.
This lesson was invaluable later on in overcoming an intense headache, which kept me up studying and praying all night before our annual association meeting. By the time the meeting started I was free and able to fulfill my part in it. I enjoyed every moment of that inspiring day, without fatigue or sleepiness. In this instance it again became apparent to me that the painful condition was not merely physical, but the manifestation of an intruding sense of fear and concern. I knew that I have complete control over such lies through the understanding of God's infinite power and love.
I am particularly grateful for the wonderful spiritual progress that comes from membership in The Mother Church and in one of its branches. The opportunities to serve, and the challenges we meet, all help to put off the mortal belief in a selfhood apart from God. There is also a beautiful sense of church members working together, upholding each other in times of need, and rejoicing in each other's spiritual progress. The Wednesday evening testimony meetings provide a special time for sharing the healing fruits of our spiritual brotherhood.
At the time our new church edifice was opened and dedicated, I was serving as Second Reader. A false sense of responsibility for the three services to be held that day had built up. But this aggressive suggestion, which had resulted in a severe cold, was completely silenced. I was healed the night before when I saw that in truth God, the only Principle of man and the universe, is responsible for all that is real My only responsibility was to keep my thought aligned with divine Principle, Love.
I have been healed of what appeared to be pneumonia, strep throat, and neuralgia. Many times this statement on page 392 of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy has helped me to overcome what appeared to be a strictly material condition: "You will call it neuralgia, but we call it a belief." Regardless of how real a condition may appear to be, or the frightening name it has been given, disease is a powerless belief of the carnal, or mortal, mind. It is never a part of man, the spiritual expression of God.
I used to be afraid of changes in the weather, but this fear was dispelled as I understood the truth behind this statement (Science and Health, p. 220): "The atmosphere of the earth, kinder than the atmosphere of mortal mind, leaves catarrh to the latter." I saw that it wasn't wind or cold air I needed to avoid, but exposure to the elements of mortal mind, namely, false beliefs and fears. What joy to gain this freedom!
Many individuals have contributed to my spiritual education and progress. I am especially grateful to my parents for their love and high moral standards; to my grandmother, who was the first Christian Scientist in our family; and to my husband and his mother, who guided my first footsteps in this true, Christian way of life.
Each day I can take deep drafts from the fount of Truth through my study of the Bible and the writings of Mrs. Eddy. Through this study I can feel the action of the Christ, Truth, nourishing and regenerating consciousness. I have infinite gratitude to God for His two witnesses, Christ Jesus and Christian Science, and for His humble and obedient servant, Mrs. Eddy, who discovered and founded this Science. Only a life consecrated to God can begin to illustrate this thankfulness.
Altadena, California
I am glad to verify the healings in my wife's testimony.
When I was an infant, a young woman's unselfed love, combined with her understanding of Christian Science, healed me of a condition that had been diagnosed as an internal organic deformity. Our physician had given up trying to correct the difficulty. He said he had neither the skill nor the equipment to do it.
Since that time the light of spiritual understanding—the knowledge of God as infinite Spirit and of man as truly spiritual, created in His image—has shepherded my life. Despite periods of darkness, or emotional and physical distress, this light has never flickered out but has grown brighter.
A consistent, systematic study of the Bible and of Mrs. Eddy's writings has been a strong discipline for good in my life. It has helped me in my effort to live in obedience to the moral and spiritual law of divine Life. And I am gaining a true sense of peace, satisfaction, and security that a love of this world and the attraction of matter can never supply. To know Truth is a God-given privilege that awaits every receptive heart.
