I first heard of Christian Science...

Marjorie I. Barns

I first heard of Christian Science just before my marriage in the early nineteen-twenties. We read in Isaiah (30:21), "Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." This way proved for me to be the study of Science.

Two years later, when our daughter was born, I had help in Science. I had always been considered a delicate child, and I was the youngest of four sisters; the others had already had children and had experienced difficult births. My mother, who was not a Scientist, anticipated similar difficulty for me. When the time came I had the prayerful support of a practitioner, and the birth proved a very satisfactory, joyful, and speedy experience, accomplished without medication of any kind.

I should like to share a healing which I had a few years ago. While walking over some fields with my dog, I had to climb a stile which was about four feet high. The dog was attached to a leather leash, since there were sheep in the field. As I mounted, a pheasant ran across the path a few feet ahead of the stile. Normally the dog awaits the command before he moves, but he at once sprang forward, pulling me to the ground.

In the sudden shock of pain in my arm I sat on the ground and repeated the twenty-third Psalm and also "the scientific statement of being" found on page 468 of the textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. I tried to control myself, and to realize the significance of the words of the statement I was speaking aloud, which include, "Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal." Finally I was able to go home. The pain was intense, and it was obvious that the thumb was broken, and perhaps the wrist also.

I telephoned a practitioner, and, in explaining matters, I told her I was unable to move my fingers or hand or arm. She quietly assured me of God's presence and of His power. In talking to her I felt an immediate sense of comfort and relief. In a few hours there was no longer any pain at all, but it was still impossible for me to make even the smallest movement with the arm. The next day I spoke again to the practitioner, because I was anxious to be in my place as Sunday School superintendent on the following day. She once more affirmed God's ability to meet my need.

On the Sunday, after rising early to study, I was able to dress myself, to prepare breakfast, to do other household duties, and finally to go to Sunday School, where no one noticed any evidence of difficulty. After this, progress was steady, and in eight days I was able to drive the car again and to fulfill all my other duties, using the fingers, hand, and arm confidently and normally.

My gratitude is great for the love and blessings shown me at the time of my husband's passing and since then. I am grateful too for the clearer understanding I have gained of true supply and protection and for the purpose that has come into my life.— (Mrs.) Marjorie I. Barns, Oakley, Bedfordshire, England.

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Testimony of Healing

In "We Knew Mary Baker Eddy,"...

September 22, 1962

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