Healing after a skiing accident

What happened? Where am I? What’s going on?

Not the thoughts I expected to be thinking during a skiing vacation in Wyoming with my friend. 

I love skiing and was so excited to get out on the slopes. But the first afternoon, as we were going down an icy, steep run, I got into a pretty bad accident. I hit my head and was unconscious for a bit. When I woke up, there was an intense pain in my wrist and leg, and I felt very afraid and confused. The ski patrol was there, and they were asking me a bunch of questions that I was struggling to answer. Everything seemed very chaotic.

Just then, I looked a few feet down the mountain and saw my friend sitting there, mouthing the words of Hymn 148 from the Christian Science Hymnal. This is one of my favorite hymns, and it immediately calmed me down. Much to my surprise, after thinking about this hymn for just a moment, I was able to answer the rest of the ski patrol’s questions with ease. 

I looked a few feet down the mountain and saw my friend sitting there, mouthing the words of a hymn.

As they took me to the clinic on a stretcher, I was still in pain, and I got very quiet mentally so I could listen to God. From attending the Christian Science Sunday School, I’ve learned that healing is possible in any situation. And I’ve also learned that it happens naturally when we listen for God’s reassurances of how safe we always are as His children. 

As I listened to God, Hymn 148 came to mind again. I really thought about what the first verse says: 

“Nothing changes here” reminded me that I had never been out of God’s care even for a millisecond. So no matter what appeared to have happened, no accident had ever taken place in the spiritual reality of my relation to God as His loved child. Because God, who is Principle, could never falter or change in His care for me, nothing about me could ever change—be broken or hurt. My spiritual existence, which is my only real existence, was intact. 

I also prayed with the idea that the fear I was feeling was a storm that God was calming and would displace entirely. God was surrounding me now, and always had been. 

When I got to the clinic, I realized I was completely calm and quite comfortable. I hadn’t been in pain the whole ride down the mountain, and I was able to answer any questions in a relaxed way. 

A doctor set my arm before I left the mountains, and in spite of the prediction that I would miss most of my soccer season, I was back playing in two weeks. I’ve also played tennis (using the same wrist) and basketball since this healing, as well as performed in several dance productions. I know my friend’s help and my prayers on the mountain are the reason this healing happened so quickly.

I’m so grateful to have had this experience of the power of Christian Science to bring healing. Since then, Christian Science has been the first thing I’ve turned to when something difficult has come up, and taking the time to listen to God has brought so much peace into my life.

LISA ANDREWS—STAFF