Article November 15, 1919 Issue

Minute by Minute

HILDA WILLOUGHBY WOLF

A lesson recently learned in the practical application of the truth, as revealed in Christian Science, of the present reality of Life and its manifestation as perfect health, and the consequent unreality of anything unlike that manifestation, has been of such value to me that I feel this experience should be shared, perchance to bring a ray of light to some other pilgrim.

After an instantaneous healing of a condition considered incurable by the medical men, followed by freedom from chronic tonsillitis, like a cloud out of a clear sky a severe and most disfiguring skin disease quite suddenly appeared. With confidence, however, I applied to a Christian Science practitioner for help. Work was lovingly and faithfully done, but to my astonishment and dismay there was only very slight relief. In desperation I dropped my household duties and read Science and Health eight hours a day. Still there was no change for the better. As the months passed by, many unkind remarks as to the apparent failure of Christian Science to heal this case were by one means and another brought to my notice, so that I finally found, added to the burden of physical suffering, a sense of personal responsibility, feeling that it was my duty to prove that the power of Truth is indeed adequate to replace all blemishes with a manifestation of purity and beauty. And so day after day I made my declarations of truth, but the physical appearance remained unchanged and the extreme itching seemed to increase.

One day, however, my eyes were suddenly opened, as a friend bluntly remarked, "I don't see how you can expect to be healed when you keep applying a material remedy." I rather indignantly replied: "I use nothing of the sort. How can you say such a thing?" The answer was, "Every time you touch your face, either to rub it or scratch it, you are applying a material remedy, you are acting on the basis of the reality of this disease." I pondered the situation, and then the warfare with error was on in earnest. The first erroneous argument presented was that it would be impossible for me not to rub or scratch my face because the act had become largely an unconscious one. Truth's answer was immediate: Thought precedes action; therefore in reality there is no unconscious act or habit. The next attack came swiftly: You may be able to see the truth clearly now, but you will soon fall into your old ways again. Quietly and confidently the answer was given: I know the truth now; this present minute is all I have; and I will live and act from the basis of truth only, each minute as it comes. And so, minute by minute, all through the day, knowing that there was no irritation in Love, I left my face untouched. I acted that truth, not merely repeated it. And the next day, one minute at a time, the work went patiently on. In forty-eight hours there was a marked improvement. In two weeks I was healed. After two years of struggle the valuable lesson was brought home to me that not only must we think the truth and speak the truth, but we must also act from that basis only. On page 264 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy says, "We must look where we would walk, and we must act as possessing all power from Him in whom we have our being."

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