Testimony of Healing November 30, 1912 Issue

Before I heard of Christian Science I was subject to...

Catharine Verrall

Before I heard of Christian Science I was subject to attacks of deafness. At one time I was quite deaf in one ear for several months, and though I was apparently cured by medical treatment, the deafness returned later on and lasted for nearly two years. At this time I had heard of Christian Science, and had received many proofs of its healing power. I therefore tried to apply what I understood, but though other troubles yielded, the deafness seemed most stubborn. I suffered great discomfort, and it may seem strange that it never occurred to me to ask for help in Christian Science to overcome the difficulty. I think one reason may have been that I felt I ought to do this work myself, because I found that just so far as I gave up my own will and tried to be obedient to the voice of Truth, my hearing improved; but there was one point on which I was rebellious, and while that thought was cherished the deafness remained. As I began to assimilate the lessons of Christian Science and to be more obedient to the demands of Principle, I suffered less and less, and gradually my thought became clearer.

One day a friend spoke to me about the healing of deafness, as if it were difficult to overcome, and I told her that I was deaf in one ear. She said quickly, "No, you are not; at least, I have never noticed it." A gleam of hope came to me as she spoke, and I seemed suddenly to awake to the fact that I was free from the bondage in which I had been. When I was alone I put my watch to my ear, but I could not hear a sound. This did not, however, discourage me at all, for I knew that the long struggle to be obedient to the demands of Principle had not been in vain, and I worked more persistently than ever to realize that there is only one Mind and that this Mind is all-hearing, until, though my ear still seemed to be deaf, I was no longer troubled with being unable to hear all I needed to.

Gradually the seeming deafness in my ear disappeared, and now I no longer remember which ear it was that troubled me. The healing took place during the years 1893-95, and no one knew much about it except myself; but to me the mental steps taken in this healing are as definite and clear as any journey taken in the flesh. I had had attacks of deafness for many years from time to time, but during the two years previous to my healing one ear was quite deaf, and the conflict between the material sense and the spiritual sense was incessant. I was still deaf in one ear for some time after hearing returned to the other, and I often experienced the truth of what Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health, about the "impressions from Truth" being "as distinct as sound" (p. 214).

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