Testimony of Healing February 22, 1982 Issue

Thirty years ago, when first seeking what Christian Science reveals...

OLIVE B. HEISLER

Thirty years ago, when first seeking what Christian Science reveals of God as "a very present help in trouble" (Ps. 46:1), I applied for class instruction from a Christian Science teacher. My marriage of twenty-eight years was breaking up, and I frankly confessed in my interview with the teacher that I was hoping class instruction would be a remedy for my deep grief. We decided that it would be best for me to wait a year before having class, so when that year was up I applied again and was accepted.

During class instruction our teacher asked each student to select a passage from the Bible and give a recitation on it. At that time I knew little of the Bible, but I did remember an article I had read in an issue of The Christian Science Journal about the experiences of the two Old Testament prophets, Elijah and Elisha. I selected II Kings, Chapter 2, verses 1 through 15, as my subject and discovered that, in a sense, I had not selected Elijah; the spirit of Elijah had selected me. In fact, I vigorously resisted the assignment, feeling that I was inadequate for such a profound subject, but there was no escaping this spirit. Its prophecy was and continues to be a constant source of renewed hope for me. The light of understanding was surely being achieved through class instruction and through the realization that this spirit of prophecy was going to overcome all resistance, including my own.

The definition of "Elias" on page 585 of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy strengthened me: "Prophecy; spiritual evidence opposed to material sense; Christian Science, with which can be discerned the spiritual fact of whatever the material senses behold; the basis of immortality.

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At age twelve I was enrolled in a Christian Science Sunday School