Testimony of Healing February 5, 1916 Issue

Years ago, in a small town in South Dakota, a dear white-haired...

Marie L. Spaulding

Years ago, in a small town in South Dakota, a dear white-haired lady lived so close to God and so understood His law and His loving care, that when a woman came to her in great distress with an infant who had swallowed a so-called poisonous substance, she was able quickly to destroy the woman's fear by her words of truth and the child was healed. The lady was a Christian Scientist, and I was the child who was healed through her realization of the power and presence of God. This experience seemed very remarkable to my mother and she felt grateful that my life had been saved, but soon afterward my parents moved away and we did not see the Christian Scientist again. At that time Christian Science literature was not so widely circulated as it is now, and we did not receive the advantage of more fully studying the subject until many years later.

During my girlhood I suffered severely from various ailments,—a stomach and bowel disorder and other internal troubles. I was given one year's material treatment without the slightest relief, nor did I benefit from the medicines, of which I had taken a considerable quantity. These difficulties have been healed through Christian Science, which has given me continued health, strength, and happiness.

As the result of an accident to one of my shoulder-blades, I suffered for many years from what prominent surgeons declared was a very unusual condition. The deformity was very noticeable unless my clothing was carefully made, and even then could be plainly seen at times. As this accident occurred when I was about eight years old, the doctors had some hope that I might outgrow the condition if I wore military braces, and I did so for several years. At the age of seventeen or eighteen, however, the shoulder was no better, and the suffering had increased to such an extent that my parents again consulted a surgeon. Upon examination this doctor advised an operation as the only possible means of relief ; but when asked by my mother if he would guarantee a successful outcome, he stated in surprise that he did not possess divine power or wisdom and could only say that the resulting condition would be much better or much worse. My mother had undergone several operations without permanent relief, and she was therefore unwilling that I should be operated on unless successful results were assured. The surgeon's admission of his own powerlessness awakened my mother's thought to the realization that help might be obtained from God.

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