Inspiration Calms and Heals Breast Cancer Fears

The sun has often been used as a symbol of God’s presence and power, both in the Bible and in Mrs. Eddy’s writings. I had an experience about 20 years ago that brought that symbol vividly to life for me. For some weeks, I’d been experiencing unexplained pains in my body, especially the breasts, upper and underarms. And I had found a lump in one breast. The media is so full of information about cancer and its symptoms, that we take it in unwittingly. I became very fearful that these physical signs meant cancer in the breast and/or lymph glands. As a lifelong Christian Scientist, I prayed about this situation as I’d been taught (and had proven many times) and had the prayerful support of a Christian Science practitioner to help me see my true reality as a spiritual child of God, untouched by disease — to see myself as God sees me. But the fear was great.

One night I felt the need to stay up studying my Bible and Mrs. Eddy’s writings to gain a sense of peace. I was in the guest room with east-facing glass doors. I dozed and woke during the night of study, still experiencing pain and renewed fear. Then toward dawn, as light was starting to fill the sky outside the room, I thought of the image of God as the life-giving, all-encompassing “sun” of my being. And as the light increased, I was suddenly struck with the absolute inevitability of that sunrise — nothing could stop that sun from coming up and filling my world with light, just as nothing could stop God’s presence and all-power from maintaining me as He created me: “pure, upright, whole and free” as it says in one of our hymns. That was the turning point: the fear was gone and within a few days, all the symptoms were gone, along with the lump. The peace and inspiration of that dawn time is described beautifully in #317 in the Christian Science Hymnal. One verse reads: “So shall it ever be in the bright morning, when hearts awaking see the shadows flee. O, in that hour, and fairer than the dawning, rises the glorious thought, I am with Thee.”

C. O.