Testimony of Healing February 11, 1933 Issue

Through application of the practical truth of Christian Science...

D. Yancey Bradshaw

Through application of the practical truth of Christian Science it has been my privilege to demonstrate repeatedly that God is indeed a very present help. My parents and I began the study of Christian Science more than seventeen years ago, when, depending entirely upon the help of a practitioner, I was healed overnight of a case of pneumonia, which was pronounced extremely serious by a physician. Since that time our family has had many proofs of the power of divine Love when applied.

Over three years ago I had occasion for the deepest gratitude for God's ever present power. I joined five other young men, three of them guides, in the first attempt of the season to climb Mount Rainier. After a laborious ascent over the remains of the trail of the previous year, we reached the top with a mountain blizzard raging about us. The terrific wind, obscuring snow, intense cold, and steep, icy footing made the descent loom as a hazardous undertaking. I was grateful for my reliance on Truth, which kept all fear out of my consciousness. After we had made an hour of tedious progress down the mountain, the ice ax of the guide bringing up the rear tore loose unexpectedly and, as we were roped together, the entire party slipped and sped away down the glacier. It appeared certain that either a deep crevasse (split in the ice) which had been crossed by means of a narrow snow bridge on the ascent, or a two-thousand-foot precipice would terminate the slide. However, I felt a sense of security and calm trust that all would be well. In a few moments I felt the ice give way and immediately received a severe blow on my head. When I awoke I found the party lying on a ledge in a deep crevasse. Although we lay on the ice, surrounded by icy walls, for more than an hour, with the temperature well below freezing, not one of us suffered from the cold during our stay in the crevasse. One of the guides managed to scale the wall of ice and all but one, who never regained consciousness, succeeded in following him out. When it was learned that we had dropped ninety feet, officials and guides termed it miraculous that all were not killed in the fall, and that a way out of the treacherous split had been found.

During the next two days we made our way safely down and were immediately rushed to a hospital by officials, as we all appeared to be injured to some extent. An X-ray showed that my jaw had been broken in a jagged line but that it was already perfectly set and had begun to knit. My teeth were wired together and I was instructed not to remove the wires for at least six weeks. When an opiate was administered to relieve the suffering of my friends it was offered to me, but I refused, stating that I was depending upon Christian Science. At no time did I have need of a narcotic or other medicine. After four days in the hospital I departed for home, more than two thousand miles away. I suffered no pain during the trip, and soon after my arrival, and just nine days after the wires were placed on my teeth, I had the wires removed, feeling that divine Love had guided me and cared for me so completely that no further material help was needed. My jaw mended perfectly.

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