ABOUT 18 MONTHS AGO when I was working as a Christian Science nurse, I went to stay for a few days with someone who needed care 24/7. The day before I was to be relieved on this case, I was helping the patient get up out of bed in the morning, and strained my back. There was a great deal to do that day, and after the initial feeling that something was very wrong, I remembered what Mary Baker Eddy said in Science and Health, "Whatever it is your duty to do, you can do without harm to yourself" (p. 385).
I declared silently that I was indeed doing my duty, so I could definitely not suffer from that effort. I also remembered a Bible verse "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength," (Is. 40:31). As the day progressed, the patient and I read the Christian Science Bible Lesson for that week. The subject was "Matter," and as we read I was able to gain some understanding of myself—and the one for whom I was caring—as being entirely spiritual, and not under any material laws. This became clearer and clearer to me as we moved through the inspired truths in each section of the Lesson. I was able to attend to all the needs of the day, albeit with nagging pain.
However, by late evening I felt overwhelmed by the symptoms, and was unable to stand or sit. Even when I could lie down, I felt no relief. Throughout the night I prayed as well as I could with what I knew was really true about myself—that I am not a material body but a spiritual being, permanently under the law of divine Love. But it still felt like I was fighting a real battle. After a largely sleepless night, I called the Christian Science practitioner who was helping the person I was caring for. She emphatically told me, "You are not in that [other person's] dream," and led me to a citation from the Bible Lesson, "Harmonious action proceeds from Spirit, God" (Science and Health, p. 480). I quickly saw that the only action there was, or ever had been, was harmonious, and that this action did not proceed from my body or my back, but from Spirit, God.
I was still unable to stand upright or even sit for more than a minute or two, and wondered how I would drive home. The thought quickly came that the person who was coming later that day might be able to pick up my husband and bring him to where I was, so that he could drive my car (and me) back home. While I was waiting for them, I continued helping my patient, occasionally lying down at intervals. I found I could stand for a short time, so I could fix breakfast—after that I would lie down on the floor and read the Bible Lesson out loud to us both—then tidy the house.
Although on the way home every bump in the road caused pain, my husband and I got home. I called the practitioner again, and she reminded me that a reflection cannot do anything independent of the original. That made me think of Mary Baker Eddy's explanation of "reflection": "Your mirrored reflection is your own image or likeness. If you lift a weight, your reflection does this also" (Science and Health, p. 515). Mrs. Eddy was making the point that a reflection has no life of its own, and I knew that as God's idea—His reflection—I didn't either. This meant that I couldn't lift any "weight"—especially anything that could cause a burden or strain.
When I put the phone down I again read over some passages from the Bible Lesson as well as another statement from Science and Health, "Neither organic inaction nor overaction is beyond God's control; and man will be found normal and natural to changed mortal thought, and therefore more harmonious in his manifestations than he was in the prior states which human belief created and sanctioned" (p. 125). I realized that only God, good, was in control, both now and when the trouble seemed to begin. I knew He wouldn't allow any action to cause distress or pain to His child—me!
By then I was resting on my own bed, but these ideas were becoming so real to me that I knew I could get up, go downstairs, and join my husband and son. So I did, ate a good meal, and then had a restful night's sleep. The next day I freely took care of some necessary household tasks. The day after, I visited another person who needed Christian Science nursing care. And just a short time after this complete healing, a family member needed what turned out to be a prolonged period of care, and I was able to provide that help without any signs of weakness or strain, whilst also continuing my other commitments.
My healing has been permanent. But more than the physical healing itself, I am grateful for the revealing and overcoming—with the help of the practitioner—of so many things, like the thought that it is ever me doing "the doing." Instead I know myself as the natural reflection of God, never carrying any weight or burden. When the Psalmist asks, "Has the Lord redeemed you?" (Psalms 107:2, New Living Translation), I can honestly and gratefully answer, "Yes!" And, "Thank you."
POOLE, DORSET, ENGLAND
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