On this program Mrs. Alice Kinsman Smith of Chicago, Illinois, told of her own experience. The program was as follows:

Speaker: Wasn't it significant that Christ Jesus always instantly and wholeheartedly turned to God in every need? And God never failed to meet the need, no matter how urgent it was. Is it safe for you to turn to God in the face of what appears to be great danger and confidently rely on Him for healing, no matter where you are, no matter what the condition may be? We're going to let our guest answer this question. She had to make a quick and vital decision. Under great stress of circumstances she chose to rely on God for healing instead of a surgical operation. Let me present Mrs. Alice Kinsman Smith of Chicago, Illinois.

Mrs. Smith, your healing was quite a remarkable one to you, wasn't it? Tell us why.

Mrs. Smith: The healing I'd like to tell you about was perhaps the most decisive in my experience, because it came at a time when I was being tempted, as young people so frequently are, to drift away from religious teachings, to belittle the spiritual, and to incline toward a materialistic outlook.

I was a young teacher far from home when I became very ill during the night. Although I tried prayerfully to know the truths I had learned in the Christian Science Sunday School, I was overwhelmed by the terrifying symptoms and the feeling of being alone and was able to think of little else than the pain and illness. By morning when my friends found me I seemed to be in a serious condition, and they promptly called in a physician. After examining me and calling in a surgeon to confirm his diagnosis, he told me that an appendectomy must be performed immediately. This roused me from my apathy, and I silently but vigorously denied that the perfect child of God could ever be in such a condition.

I recalled that for over twelve years my parents and I had met our every problem solely through reliance on God, and I realized that now, far from home and family, I still had that infinite presence and power of God with me in facing this challenge. When I explained that I believed in God's healing power and wished to rely on God rather than on surgery, the doctors agreed to wait until early afternoon. However, they warned me that unless there was great improvement by that time they would have to insist on operating because I was in no condition to make a wise decision for myself.

When they left, I called for the help of a Christian Science practitioner, who was experienced in healing through prayer; and I myself turned wholeheartedly to God, refusing to be frightened any longer by the pains and distress of the physical senses and rejecting utterly the un-Godlike thought that there could be any power or cause but God, divine Mind. This opened the door to clear, Godlike thoughts which I had not been able to entertain while fear and pain had dominated my thinking. With great clarity I was able to realize that, as Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, states in our textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 151), "The divine Mind that made man maintains His own image and likeness."

By early afternoon the alarming symptoms were gone. I was perfectly healed, and the doctors agreed there was no longer any need for surgery. I resumed my normal activities the next day. The difficulty never returned. The intervening years have only emphasized my gratitude for a proof so conclusive that I could never again doubt the power and availability of God to heal today as in Christ Jesus' time.

Speaker: Thank you, Mrs. Smith. I'm sure your experience has helped us to see more clearly just how normal and natural it is to depend upon God at all times.

How did she do it, friends? Would you call it nerve, will power, or just plain faith? I expect some would say Mrs. Smith was very foolish. Well, let's examine, in the light of the Scriptures, the thinking which brought about her healing. In Genesis we find this reassuring promise: "Is any thing too hard for the Lord?" And Christ Jesus declared, "With God all things are possible."

In the Christian Science Sunday School and at home Mrs. Smith had learned three very important spiritual facts: first, that God is Love and Spirit; second, that God as Spirit creates man as His spiritual image, and God as Love maintains man as His perfect likeness; and third, that in the degree one understands and faithfully practices these spiritual facts this operates as divine law in his human experience to meet every need each day, physical, mental, and moral.

Now at times, especially under the pressures of materialism, this teaching may seem to be theoretical. But when you receive it with your spiritual sense into your innermost feelings—into your spiritual understanding—it is never lost or really dormant, as Mrs. Smith proved. When she found herself far away from home, in an emergency her certainty of God's healing presence and power promptly took charge of the situation. Apathy and fear fled before this aroused spiritual conviction. With the loving and prayerful support of a faithful Christian Science practitioner, who vigorously affirmed God's loving care of man, our guest's thought became spiritually clearer and firmer. Frightened human sense gave way to spiritual poise and confidence. Finally pain and distress melted under the bright light of spiritual understanding, and all was proved to be well.

Here is a passage from the Christian Science textbook which strikingly illustrates the way in which Mrs. Smith and the practitioner must have prayed. It says (p. 495): "When the illusion of sickness or sin tempts you, cling steadfastly to God and His idea. Allow nothing but His likeness to abide in your thought. Let neither fear nor doubt overshadow your clear sense and calm trust, that the recognition of life harmonious—as Life eternally is—can destroy any painful sense of, or belief in, that which Life is not."

I'm sure it's obvious to you, friends, that neither mere human will nor blind faith could have brought about such a clear-cut healing. Our guest utilized scientific divine rules. This enabled her to demonstrate the unerring government of spiritual laws and forces—laws and forces which are available to you this very moment. She proved that you can depend on God. You can rely exclusively on the prayer of faith and spiritual understanding with complete safety and certainty because God is forever good, unerring, changeless, always taking care of man. In the words o the Apostle James, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

The musical selection on this program was Hymn No. 330 from the Christian Science Hymnal (The King of Love my Shepherd is).