Category: Christian Science

How My Family Found Christian Science

While my mother attended Sunday school in a reformed Jewish synagogue in her youth, she and my grandparents could be best described as secular in outlook     with little interest in religion.  After graduating from high school, she attended college at the University of California, but had to drop out upon or shortly after her first year sometime in 1942 as a result of an incurable, deteriorating digestive health condition.  She became an invalid confined to bed, unable to eat normally, and was on a rapid, downward trajectory as she lost weight and strength.  Despite seeking help from the best medical specialists in San Francisco, none could be found that offered any hope of cure. 

My grandparents had a successful millinery shop in the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco at the time.  One early evening after the shop was closed for business, the bookkeeper came in to pick up the week’s receipt and purchase records.  To her surprise, she found my grandfather seated in the back room leaning over his desk and weeping.  When she tenderly inquired what was troubling him, he explained that his only daughter, my mom, was dying and that nothing could be done to help her.   As I recall the details, this kind woman suggested that she had a book that could be of great help.  Either that evening or sometime shortly afterward, she gave my grandfather a copy of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, and told him to give it to her and have her read it.

As I recall from my mother’s reminisces, she read Science and Health all afternoon with intensity and without interruption.  At dinner time she realized that her strength and normal appetite returned.  She came downstairs to the dining room and joined my grandparents in eating a normal meal for the first time in several months.   She was cured and that was the end of the debilitating illness!  I recall my mother telling me that my grandparents both wept with tears of joy at the dinner table that evening as they witnessed my mother’s complete healing.  They all knew it was that the divine truth in that book that resulted in the healing.    

This healing profoundly changed my mother, and she became interested in Christian Science.  My mother’s healing was exactly like those testimonies in the “Fruitage” chapter of Science and Health in which healing resulted from reading the book.  She soon began attending a local Christian Science church in San Francisco and became an active member sometime thereafter.   

While my grandparents didn’t pursue any interest in Christian Science, I do recall that my grandmother had great respect for this healing religion.  One time while riding in the family car with my mom and grandmother, I specifically recall a conversation in which my grandmother referred to a young child (who may have been a family member of a friend) who was quickly healed of a serious hand injury by vehemently denying its reality with a simple, childlike conviction.  She exclaimed that this child was a “natural Christian Scientist”.   Another time when I was young, I recall attending a Christian Science lecture at a local San Francisco movie theater with my mom and grandmother.   I am certain that if my mother’s healing didn’t happen just as I have described, my grandmother would have had a very dismissive attitude toward Christian Science.

My dad had no interest in religion, but I do recall when I was about 5 years of age that he had an operation to remove kidney stones and being very ill-at-ease when he was away from home in the hospital.  Some years later, my mom explained that his operation was unsuccessful, and his doctors wanted to repeat the operation.   He was in such extreme discomfort that it only took gentle prodding to obtain his consent to prayerful treatment by a Christian Science practitioner; he was quickly healed and a second operation wasn’t necessary.  

As a young child, I had no interest in attending Sunday School.  I much preferred going on Sunday morning adventures with my dad.  When I began to ask my parents “how do people know that there is a God?”, my mother knew it was time for me to attend.  I reluctantly attended Sunday School at the 4th Church of Christ Scientist in San Francisco.   I only regret that I didn’t immediately realize the tremendous blessing that this attendance represented at the time.  Today, when I teach a Sunday School class, I love to tell the students that the best thing my mom ever did for me was to enroll me in a Christian Science Sunday School!

by J.E.H.

Not Alone

“Not Alone”  — focusing on the unchanging fact that we are never without Love’s presence — now when we are distant from each other, and whenever we feel threatened or bereft of help.

The Christian Science Hymnal, No. 7

Abide with me; fast breaks the morning light; / Our daystar rises, banishing all night; / Thou art our strength, O Truth that maketh free, / We would unfailingly abide in Thee. /

I know no fear, with Thee at hand to bless, / Sin hath no power and life no wretchedness; / Health, hope and love in all around I see / For those who trustingly abide in Thee. /

I know Thy presence every passing hour, / I know Thy peace, for Thou alone art power; / O Love divine, abiding constantly, / I need not plead, Thou dost abide with me.

The Bible

… ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
(II Corinthians 6:16–18 ye)

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
(Psalms 23:6)

Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.
(Psalms 71:3)

Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
(Psalms 91:9–11)

¶ And Jacob went out from Beer–sheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: …

And, behold, I am with thee, …

… ¶ And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.
(Genesis 28:10–13 (to :), 15 (to 3rd ,), 16)

¶ And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
(Genesis 32:24–29)

¶ It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. …

He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. …

Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.
(Lamentations 3:22–26, 28, 41)

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. …

Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. …

… ¶ Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. …

There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. …

Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. …

Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. …

And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. ¶ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, came forth of the midst of the fire.
(Daniel 3:1, 4–6, 8, 9, 12, 14–18, 21, 23–26)

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. …

When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
(Psalms 63:1–4, 6)

And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: …

And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: …

Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. ¶ And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. …

And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.
(Daniel 10:4, 5, 7, 8 (to :), 9–12, 16–19)

And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;
(Isaiah 32:17, 18)

¶ And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: …
(Luke 9:18 (to :))

I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. …

And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
(John 8:26, 29)

O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. …

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? …

How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.
(Psalms 139:1–3, 7, 17, 18)

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy

Existence, separate from divinity, Science explains as impossible.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 522:10)

Spiritual man is the image or idea of God, an idea which cannot be lost nor separated from its divine Principle. When the evidence before the material senses yielded to spiritual sense, the apostle declared that nothing could alienate him from God, from the sweet sense and presence of Life and Truth.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 303:28)

Let us rid ourselves of the belief that man is separated from God, and obey only the divine Principle, Life and Love.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 91:5–7)

Man is not absorbed in Deity, and man cannot lose his individuality, for he reflects eternal Life; nor is he an isolated, solitary idea, for he represents infinite Mind, the sum of all substance.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 259:1)

“When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and, when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”

So spake Jesus. The closet typifies the sanctuary of Spirit, the door of which shuts out sinful sense but lets in Truth, Life, and Love. Closed to error, it is open to Truth, and vice versa. The Father in secret is unseen to the physical senses, but He knows all things and rewards according to motives, not according to speech. To enter into the heart of prayer, the door of the erring senses must be closed. Lips must be mute and materialism silent, that man may have audience with Spirit, the divine Principle, Love, which destroys all error.

In order to pray aright, we must enter into the closet and shut the door. We must close the lips and silence the material senses. In the quiet sanctuary of earnest longings, we must deny sin and plead God’s allness. We must resolve to take up the cross, and go forth with honest hearts to work and watch for wisdom, Truth, and Love. We must “pray without ceasing.” Such prayer is answered, in so far as we put our desires into practice. The Master’s injunction is, that we pray in secret and let our lives attest our sincerity.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, pp. 14:31–24)

Christian Scientists must live under the constant pressure of the apostolic command to come out from the material world and be separate.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 451:2–4)

The footsteps of thought, rising above material standpoints, are slow, and portend a long night to the traveller; but the angels of His presence — the spiritual intuitions that tell us when “the night is far spent, the day is at hand” — are our guardians in the gloom.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 174:9–14)

ANGELS.?God’s thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 581:4)

Angels are God’s representatives. These upward-soaring beings never lead towards self, sin, or materiality, but guide to the divine Principle of all good, whither every real individuality, image, or likeness of God, gathers. By giving earnest heed to these spiritual guides they tarry with us, and we entertain “angels unawares.”
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 299:11)

The Old Testament assigns to the angels, God’s divine messages, different offices.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 566:29–30)

Gabriel has the more quiet task of imparting a sense of the ever-presence of ministering Love. These angels deliver us from the depths. Truth and Love come nearer in the hour of woe, when strong faith or spiritual strength wrestles and prevails through the understanding of God. The Gabriel of His presence has no contests. To infinite, ever-present Love, all is Love, and there is no error, no sin, sickness, nor death.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 567:1–8)

… material sense, this divine universe is dim and distant, gray in the sombre hues of twilight; but anon the veil is lifted, and the scene shifts into light. In the record, time is not yet measured by solar revolutions, and the motions and reflections of deific power cannot be apprehended until divine Science becomes the interpreter.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 513:8 material)

… the Word, the polar magnet of Revelation; eastward, to the star seen by the Wisemen of the Orient, who followed it to the manger of Jesus; southward, to the genial tropics, with the Southern Cross in the skies, — the Cross of Calvary, which binds human society into solemn union; westward, to the grand realization of the Golden Shore of Love and the Peaceful Sea of Harmony.

This heavenly city, lighted by the Sun of Righteousness, — this New Jerusalem, this infinite All, which to us seems hidden in the mist of remoteness, — reached St. John’s vision while yet he tabernacled …
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, pp. 575:27–7 the (to tabernacled))

Jacob was alone, wrestling with error, — struggling with a mortal sense of life, substance, and intelligence as existent in matter with its false pleasures and pains, — when an angel, a message from Truth and Love, appeared to him and smote the sinew, or strength, of his error, till he saw its unreality; and Truth, being thereby understood, gave him spiritual strength in this Peniel of divine Science. … Then Jacob questioned his deliverer, “Tell me, I pray thee, thy name;” but this appellation was withheld, for the messenger was not a corporeal being, but a nameless, incorporeal impartation of divine Love to man, which, to use the word of the Psalmist, restored his Soul, — gave him the spiritual sense of being and rebuked his material sense.

The result of Jacob’s struggle thus appeared. He had conquered material error with the understanding of Spirit and of spiritual power. This changed the man.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, pp. 308:16–23, 32–9 (to 2nd .))

Would existence without personal friends be to you a blank? Then the time will come when you will be solitary, left without sympathy; but this seeming vacuum is already filled with divine Love. When this hour of development comes, even if you cling to a sense of personal joys, spiritual Love will force you to accept what best promotes your growth.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 266:6–12)

WILDERNESS.?Loneliness; … Spontaneity of thought and idea; the vestibule in which a material sense of things disappears, and spiritual sense unfolds the great facts of existence.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 597:16)

The Christian Science Hymnal, No. 584

The Lord is my Shepherd; I need not a thing. / Green pastures give rest for my soul. / Love leads me beside the still, still waters. / Love restores me, and Love makes me whole. /

Love leads me in right paths to honor God’s name, / And though I walk through darkest days, / I won’t be afraid for Love’s here beside me / To protect me and show me the way. /

Though sin would surround me, my cup overflows; / You show that I’m never alone. / Your goodness and love are mine forever; / In the dwelling of Love, I am home.

The Christian Science Hymnal, No. 317

Still, still with Thee when purple morning breaketh, / When the bird waketh, and the shadows flee, / Fairer than morning, lovelier than the daylight, / Dawns the sweet consciousness, I am with Thee. /

Alone with Thee, amid the changing shadows, / Solemn the hush of nature, newly born; / Alone with Thee, in breathless adoration, / In the calm dew and freshness of the morn. /

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.
(The Christian Science Hymnal, No. 317)

Nosebleed stopped quickly

As the airplane began to descend for landing, my nose started to bleed.  It wasn’t the first time that I’ve been troubled with this problem and frequently it  has lasted for quite a while.  I immediately turned to God in prayer and mentally said a strong “No, you have no power over me, no cause”. I continued to affirm that God is the only cause and causes only that which is good, normal, harmonious.  My identity is not in a  malfunctioning, matter body,  Divine Love is present, caring for everyone on this plane and meeting all needs.  With that the bleeding stopped.  I had been talking with my seat mates and I don’t think they were even aware of the problem.  I was happy to be free as the plane landed.  When we take a step forward spiritually, it is always a time for gratitude.  I am deeply grateful that Christian Science shows us how to follow in the steps of Christ Jesus’ healings.

NH

 

Skin condition healed and character improved

Our son came home from a school trip to Costa Rica with a very aggressive skin condition on his face. It began to spread to other areas of his body, and I prayed diligently with the support of a Christian Science practitioner, to overcome the fears that were coming to me and to our son. I stayed by our son’s side day and night, reading to him and encouraging him with the truths that came to my thought. In a few days we both felt free from fear, but the condition seemed to continue to spread.

The school nurse contacted us, and informed us that the Health Department had been brought in, because a couple of other children were experiencing the same thing. One family visited a medical clinic, and the doctors said that it was not contagious, which satisfied the Health Department.

As we continued to pray, we tackled some of our son’s character issues that concerned me, such as his unwillingness to help out when asked, the tendency to procrastinate, and disobedience. These were impositions on a young man who is very intelligent, perceptive, loving, and thoughtful, and I wanted to see through the belief that man is made up of right and wrong, good and evil.

One day, our son said to me, “Mom, I’m not sure why I wasn’t helping you when you asked, but now I will help you anytime you ask.” This has proven to be the case. He is always ready to help, has become more organized, takes initiative in doing his work on time and is more responsible and much happier.

From then on the skin condition stopped spreading and gradually faded. We no longer needed to use bandages. He returned to school and finished the year with very good grades and compliments from his teachers about his helpful and confident nature. It goes without saying that I am very grateful for this healing which included the transformation in our son’s character.

HB

Swollen throat healed through prayer

This past spring a mild sore throat quickly turned into a situation where I could barely swallow, and I could open my mouth only wide enough to fit a straw. I wasn’t able to eat or drink much, and so for several days I took a few sips of liquid every few hours. The pain was so great that I chose to be hungry rather than to swallow.

I had been working with a Christian Science Practitioner on another situation, and so she continued to support me. There came a day though, that I felt I wasn’t going to be able to go much longer in this condition, and I felt I should change practitioners.

I asked my husband to call for me and as soon as the prayerful work began I felt a release from concern about not eating and I felt a gentle stirring in my consciousness.

During the day, I prayed with every passage that I have memorized from the Bible, Science and Health and Mrs. Eddy’s other writings. I listened to Christian Science online lectures all through the night and listened to the audio reading of Science and Health on JSH online. I was so grateful for these!

As the days went by I realized something: that I needed to be quiet more and wait on God before I offered feedback or my opinion, especially at work. In No and Yes, page 8, Mrs. Eddy says, “We should endeavor to be long-suffering, faithful, and charitable with all. To this small effort let us add more privilege—namely, silence whenever it can substitute censure.”  It became obvious that all I needed to do was trust more, and if it was right for me to say anything, God would provide the opportunity and the right words. This may sound simplistic, but for someone who has a lot of ideas coming to me on how to make things better, run more smoothly, etc., it required attentiveness on my part to hold back and wait on God.

I was making progress, although I still couldn’t eat. I was able to get up and sit at the dinner table and my husband made me smoothies. They took a very long time to drink, but I was grateful.

One night I just felt that I couldn’t stand the pain any longer and I was starving and so uncomfortable. I reached out again with my whole heart to God, and all of a sudden it became very clear that I needed to heal everything I had ever done that was unkind or wrong or missed the mark in any way. I knew the past could be redeemed and the practitioner explained that I could apply my current understanding of God to heal anything in my past. It seemed like a Herculean undertaking, but I opened my thought to what I should handle first, and memories from when I was just a little girl started coming to mind. I corrected everything, praying with verses from our Pastor (the Bible and Science and Health, together) and from Prose Works. I was very specific and I didn’t let anything go until I was completely sure I had corrected the error and replaced it with the truth about myself.

As I kept at this, little by little, my mouth started to open! And I was able to swallow more easily. Day after day and even during the night when I found it difficult to sleep, I asked God what needed correcting and something would come to mind. Healing these past errors freed me from the latent guilt that had been making its home in my consciousness, and I made steady progress.

It was a couple more weeks before I could open my mouth fully, but I was able to eat soft food and drink with more freedom. One day my jaw popped and I was able to open my mouth normally and swallow easily.

What was so wonderful about this healing was that it was truly a Christianly scientific healing because it uncovered and healed sin. I feel I was completely transformed by this healing and I am extremely grateful.

HB

Stopped-up ears healed through prayer

Swimming is an activity I enjoy a great deal.  However, the first time I went swimming this spring, one of my ears stopped up.  This had never happened before, but I didn’t think much about it and assumed it would soon correct itself.  However, for several weeks as I continued to swim the ear continued to be stopped up.  At that point I realized I needed to pray about it.  I affirmed that every function of my body is governed by the one divine Mind, which is God, and thus performs normally and harmoniously.  The principle of God’s harmonious universe provides that an activity that expresses God, such as swimming, can’t result in harm or an abnormal condition.

However, several weeks passed, the ear didn’t clear, and I noticed that numbness was creeping into my cheek.  At that point several fear-filled questions flooded my consciousness:  What is this?  Why doesn’t it go away?  Will it affect my hearing?

I dealt with these fears by more diligently turning to what I’ve learned about God’s all-good government. The first chapter of Genesis states that man is made in the image and likeness of God, thus is spiritual and perfect. Since God is constant, unchanging goodness, I reasoned that I must also be all good, and couldn’t lose that perfection (even if it appeared to be so).  My true spiritual substance as an idea of God could not be affected by any material condition or circumstance, and consistently acknowledging this brought it out in my experience.

As I continued to affirm the truth (as God sees it) about my identity and deny any abnormal condition, my fears left, the ear cleared and did not get stopped up again.   I continue to swim with joy and gratitude!

NH

Prayer to God reverses stroke

One afternoon four years ago I was on our deck watering plants, when I suddenly felt very faint and more or less collapsed. Thankfully my wife, who is not a Christian Scientist church member but is very supportive, saw my fall and was able to drag me to our car and drive me to the emergency room of a local hospital.

Once there, she called one of my church members and asked her and other members to pray for me. At the hospital, I was given drugs and diagnosed as having had a major stroke on the right side of my brain, one that might leave me partially or totally paralyzed and unable to speak. My wife was told that essentially the right side of my brain had died.

During the night I was awakened every hour as part of stroke protocol, and each time my wife would declare to me that this diagnosis was a false idol and one that we would not worship.

The next morning, when I awoke, I was able to recognize my wife and showed signs of recovery, but there were still fears of lasting damage, and so another brain scan was ordered to determine the extent of the injury. When the attending physicians saw the brain scan, they were amazed and mystified; there were absolutely no signs of the damage which had been so apparent in the initial scan. The doctors were unable to explain this development, but I knew that the power of God, as brought to bear by the prayers of our church members and my wife, had accomplished this otherwise inexplicable result.

I was directed to stay in the hospital for several days for observation, but in the years since I have been free of after-effects or limitations of any kind.  I continue to be immensely grateful for the loving support of my wife and our church membership and this demonstration of the power of God in the most severe circumstances.

JS

 

Stomach pain overcome through prayer

One day recently I was suddenly overcome with extreme stomach pains. I couldn’t quiet thought enough to feel God’s presence. I called a Christian Science practitioner and left a request for prayerful support on the answering machine. I lay down and tried to reach out to feel God’s love. I prayed with the “Scientific Statement of Being” from Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy.

The first sentence states “There is no life, truth, intelligence nor substance in matter.” I reasoned that matter can’t make any conditions for a spiritual idea of God, my true identity. Fear and anxiety arose as I remembered I had a special event to attend that evening. Would I be able to go? Would the pain be gone? Might it reoccur at the event? I realized that the fear needed to be overcome and dismissed. It still seemed hard to “Be still and know that I am God”, as the Bible admonishes us.

The next thing I knew it was 6:00 PM. I had been asleep for around two hours. I was completely free of the pain. I gratefully thanked and praised God. I attended the evening event and was pain free. When we are able to prove that as Mrs. Eddy tells us, Life in and of Spirit is the sole reality of existence, it is a joy to gain a step forward on our spiritual journey. I am deeply grateful for Christin Science practitioners who stand ready and willing to prayerfully support us. And for Christian Science.

NH

Christian Science Prayer Quickly Heals Dog of Pain and Lameness

In late November 2016, my wife noticed that our beloved Boston terrier, Bella, was limping badly on one leg and was refusing to eat, to go on her daily walk, or to participate in any family activity.   She simply wanted to lie in her bed, exhibiting obvious signs of pain with her ears tucked tightly against the back of her head. She is normally very playful and friendly, and we had never seen her before in such a condition.

Some family members remarked, “Bella could be suffering from acute arthritis; I guess she’s older than we realized. Maybe she injured her leg when she jumped out of the car the other day.” Alarmed, my wife made an appointment to see a local veterinarian on the following Monday.

When I received this discouraging report upon returning from work that evening, I rejected from my thought any suggestion that a belief in arthritis or injury could manifest itself as a painful condition in an idea of God, and sensed that Bella needed to feel God’s love for her. She had seemed somewhat depressed since we adopted a kitten a couple of weeks earlier! At the dinner table, Bella yelped in pain when I attempted to pick her up. Instead, I picked her up in her bed and placed it on my lap.   I petted her and prayed audibly with repetitions of Psalm 139, verse 14: “(Bella) is fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well” and with the Scientific Statement of Being (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, page 468, by M.B. Eddy), while reminding her audibly of how much God loves her and maintains her perfection as a spiritual idea. Bella responded positively to this prayerful treatment, remaining calm as she sat in my lap for nearly an hour. I continued with study and silent prayer for the rest of the evening.

The next morning, on Friday, my wife cheerfully reported that Bella seemed to be a “little better” as she was able to walk outside in our yard to relieve herself. At dinner time, her appetite seemed to return and she appeared to be able to walk more normally.   On Saturday morning, she came downstairs and barked at the drawer containing her tennis balls, indicating that she wanted to play fetch.   By Sunday morning she appeared to be completely healed, participating in all of her normal activities.   My wife canceled the appointment with the veterinarian promptly on Monday morning with much gratitude for the quick healing.   Needless to say that there was no further discussion about arthritis or speculation about the cause of the apparent problem.

J.H.

Injuries from child’s fall healed: Truth was there first

My eight-year-old daughter came in from playing outside one day, very scraped-up and in pain from a fall. We prayed with the truths we had learned in our study of Christian Science. Christian Scientists and others, all over the world, study The Holy Bible, along with Mary Baker Eddy’s major work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, on a daily basis. These two books gave my daughter and me the foundation from which to pray in that moment of need.

Essentially, we prayed to see what God sees. Since God is perfect and can only see perfection, God was seeing my daughter’s perfection right then and always. Because God can’t be injured, neither could she, since she reflects God’s perfection at all times. God’s child is a spiritual idea at all times, and an idea can’t be damaged or in pain. As a spiritual idea of God, she could never fall out of that perfection.

The healing came that same day when we realized that the truth of her unfallen perfection was there first, and that this appearance of injury was only a counterfeit-picture, a lie about God’s child. After all, the very nature of the counterfeit of anything is that a counterfeit only presents itself after the original has been established. Otherwise, the counterfeit (something not authentic) would be the original. The counterfeit claims authenticity, but it will never have any, because it is not the original. It can’t be first because the truth is first. The pain stopped, my daughter went out to play, and the scrapes healed up shortly after.

That angel thought about the ‘truth being there first,’ has helped with many challenges over the years. In the Bible, in the first chapter of the book of Genesis, we read that God created man (man, woman, and child) in His image and likeness, and He gave us dominion over all the earth. That first chapter in Genesis also tells us that everything God made, was very good! This is the truth that was there first and forever, and can’t be opposed by an opposite claim (counterfeit). The perfection of God and man is always intact and secure, and it always has been. When the counterfeit picture tries to tell us something different, we have but to cling steadfastly to ‘perfect God and perfect man.’ Then we are seeing what God is always seeing about us. I love the Bible passage from Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end”, and that expected end is harmony.

With much gratitude,                                                                                                                                                     BM