Testimony of Healing October 28, 1972 Issue

About four years ago I dislocated my shoulder in a fall while...

Janet Bailey

About four years ago I dislocated my shoulder in a fall while skiing. At first I did not realize anything was wrong. The next day, however, a dressmaker who was altering something for me remarked that one shoulder was higher than the other. Then I realized that something was not as it should be.

At first I was tempted to go to a doctor and have the shoulder put back in place. I just wanted to be done with the matter and get on with my life. But as I prayed about it, I realized that to make a superficial rearrangement of a physical condition is not real healing. I knew that healing through Christian Science would improve me morally as well as mentally and physically and that great joy would be the result. So I discarded all thought of seeing a doctor.

By this time the shoulder was becoming very painful, and I began to work for myself through prayer and the study of Christian Science literature. Then I contacted a Christian Science practitioner, who comforted me tenderly and encouraged me. The pain did not seem to yield to any of the prayerful work we did, though the shoulder moved back into place very soon after I asked for treatment. Due to the discomfort I could not sleep normally, but on several occasions the pain would suddenly cease for an hour or so and I would be able to rest. However, after five or six days, during which I felt mentally uplifted and inspired in spite of the pain, I suddenly became discouraged and angry. The practitioner lovingly accepted my call in the wee hours of the morning and helped me to see that our goal was to glorify God, not just to relieve pain. I felt comforted by this statement because I knew that suffering does not glorify God. So I patiently continued to seek a clearer understanding of God.

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