Crystal clear blue skies, snowcapped mountains, and the jingling sound of bells—all so evocative of the Swiss Alps! This was day one of my vacation, and I was delighted to be joining a friend for a few days of walking.
Although I enjoy getting out into the countryside, I’m not a serious, experienced, or regular hill-walker. That first day we walked more than twice the distance we had planned. My friend is also a Christian Scientist, and as we walked, we shared with one another our inspiration from reading the Bible Lesson in the Christian Science Quarterly that morning. We also shared other ideas resulting from our prayers and study of the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
Later that evening, however, my legs were painful. Initially, I didn’t pay too much attention to it but simply accepted the pain as a result of having overdone it. The following day, though, I was unable to complete the walk. That night, the intense pain kept me awake, and I struggled to move. I was keen not to disappoint my friend by needing to back out of the walk the following day, but at that point it didn’t seem possible that I would be able to go anywhere.
I knew I wanted to deal with this difficulty through prayer, as I had experienced other physical healings through prayer alone. I texted a Christian Science practitioner and asked her to pray for me. She was glad to, and in her response she reminded me that I did not bear any burden of mortal belief, and that as an immortal idea of God, divine Love, I was free.
I knew that this message came from a deep conviction and understanding that God created man in His own likeness, entirely spiritual, complete, and good, as we learn in Genesis: “God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (1:31).
I spent several hours praying with helpful thoughts from the Bible and Science and Health. Through what I had learned in Christian Science, I knew that God had never made us subject to material laws of limitation.
Christ Jesus’ healing ministry was rooted in this understanding of man’s innate freedom. He said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
And in Science and Health we read: “God made man free. Paul said, ‘I was free born.’ All men should be free. ‘Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.’ Love and Truth make free, but evil and error lead into captivity.
“. . . The illusion of material sense, not divine law, has bound you, entangled your free limbs, crippled your capacities, enfeebled your body, and defaced the tablet of your being” (p. 227).
As I prayed with these passages, I was completely released from any fear. I could see that what seemed to be a physical problem resulting from over-exertion was nothing more than an “illusion”—a mistaken view of myself as material rather than spiritual. I knew with a conviction that comes from spiritual sense—our innate ability to understand God—that no supposed material law could interfere with or hamper my freedom.
I rejoiced that because God made me a spiritual idea, never in matter and subject to limitation, I was entirely governed by the law of Spirit, God. From my prayerful study that morning, it became clear to me that I didn’t need to pray for a healing of my legs. Healing in Christian Science isn’t about trying to fix up matter through prayer. Rather, healing comes from acknowledging our real spiritual identity as the perfect creation of God, present now and forever intact as His reflection.
The Bible says: “Ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands” (Isaiah 55:12). And Hymn 64 from the Christian Science Hymnal says: “The way leads upward and its goal draws nearer, / Thought soars enraptured, fetterless and free” (Violet Hay, © CSBD).
When it was time to leave for our walk, I was able to go, “fetterless and free.” That day we completed a walk that was challenging and longer than planned. There was no pain or restriction of my movement, nor has there been since. I felt such joy, not only in the majesty and beauty of our surroundings, but in having witnessed the power and effectiveness of divine Truth in bringing about this healing.
Karen Gould
Belper, Derbyshire, England
