Testimony of Healing September 27, 1924 Issue

It was not a desire for physical healing that caused me...

Nola Lee Hock

It was not a desire for physical healing that caused me to begin the study of the Bible and the writings of Mrs. Eddy, but rather a desire to know God. For many years I had been unconsciously seeking the divine Principle of all existence; but I could not accept the teachings of the so-called orthodox churches because of the many contradictory beliefs. The Bible had been discarded as a guide, since I could not reconcile the seeming contradictions in it. How thankful I am to-day for the understanding that enables us to turn again and "take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life,"—to quote part of the first tenet, as given on page 497 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy!

About five years ago, while I was visiting a sister in a distant city, she placed a little book in my hands, saying, "See what you think about this." It was a copy of Science and Health. After I had read a few pages of the chapter on Prayer, a feeling of great joy came to me, for I felt that at last I had found the Principle of being. I had read, "God is not moved by the breath of praise;" also, "God is not influenced by man" (pp. 2, 7); and it seemed to me that here was the God that one could depend upon at all times and under all circumstances.

A copy of the book was purchased at once, and for many weeks I read nothing else. After about three months of almost constant study of the book, a physical condition that much medicine and many physicians had failed to cure, seemed greatly aggravated. I knew no Christian Scientists, and nothing about practitioners, but was led to call a practitioner for help after many weeks of earnest prayer. She lived in a distant city, and my fear was very great, so that the condition seemed to grow worse for several days. The thought kept coming to me to go to the city, but the trip seemed impossible under the circumstances. When it seemed that I had reached my extremity, the verse in the Bible, "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye," was given to me with such a comforting assurance that it destroyed much of the fear; and later, when I opened the Bible and my eyes fell on these words, "Whiter it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go," I felt that God was leading me, and I prepared to make the trip. He did indeed care for me all the way; and in a week I returned to my home healed. There was a slight return of the trouble a few days later, but it was overcome as soon as the practitioner was notified.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Testimony of Healing

I did not come into Christian Science for physical healing