Article September 9, 1996 Issue

Contagious disease—stopped and healed

Linda Thornton

A New family moved in next door recently. They have two little girls—one in preschool, the other in diapers. One Monday soon after they arrived, their mom was to start a new job. The Sunday evening before that, however, the preschooler broke out with chickenpox; soon her little sister did, too. The day-care provider scheduled to take care of the girls asked their mother to make other arrangements for them until they were well. My daughter, Dawn-joy, was able to rearrange her work schedule so that she could care for the girls. She played with them, read to them, and sang to them. She fed and comforted them. In time the girls were healthy and ready to begin their regular daycare arrangement.

Before long, however, what appeared to be a chickenpox sore appeared on Dawn-joy's hand; then more appeared on her chest. Having been healed through prayer many times before, Dawn-joy didn't hesitate to ask a Christian Science practitioner to help her pray. The suggestion that any of God's dear children could even for a moment be separated from their native perfection and spotless purity had to be confronted and destroyed. Since God is Principle, infinite good, there is absolutely no law of His that could create or sustain a contagious disease. And because He is omnipotent, the only lawmaker, all other so-called laws are actually false beliefs, devoid of power or authority. He is at every moment governing, protecting, and preserving the perfect child that He made. God's spiritual idea, man, has never suffered from this or any other disease. God's child is pure and spotless, a clear reflection of Him. Knowing this brought healing to Dawn-joy. Within twenty-four hours the spots had subsided, and then they disappeared.

Mary Baker Eddy wrote a wonderful article called "Contagion." In it she states: "People believe in infectious and contagious diseases, and that any one is liable to have them under certain predisposing or exciting causes. This mental state prepares one to have any disease whenever there appear the circumstances which he believes produce it" (Miscellaneous Writings, pp. 228–229). If our mental state prepares us to have, or "catch," a disease, isn't the best means of healing to change our mental state? We can change from fear of disease to confidence in God's omnipotence and omnipresence. We can change from dull-mindedness that would take in almost any thought that drifts by to spiritual alertness that admits into consciousness only what is true. We can change from a belief of helplessness to the conviction of our insparability from God and of the limitless power and ability He bestows.