Article February 3, 1986 Issue

Practice makes perfect

NANA WOLAVER

The proverb "Practice makes perfect" applies to almost anything a person wants to do well. One who wishes to be a pianist must not only take piano lessons but also practice the instruction.

Mrs. Eddy well knew the value of practicing what one has been taught. Some of her students recalled that before their class with her was finished, she gave them assignments to heal. C. Lulu Blackman wrote: "Mrs. Eddy ... closed the third lesson with these words: 'Now go home and take your first patient.' In my own estimation I was not ready to take a patient.... It was a great relief to remember that I was a complete stranger in Boston and so could not possibly be called upon to give a treatment.... The relief was short-lived, for when I opened the door of my rooming place a member of the family was found to be very ill with erysipelas. When he saw that I was making haste to escape to my room he called to me: 'If you can do anything for me, why don't you do it?'

"The swift healing that followed my obedience to Mrs. Eddy's demand that I take my first patient gave me a keen insight into her characteristic faith in the power of the Word of God when applied through the Science she was giving to the world."^{We Knew Mary Baker Eddy (Boston: The Christian Science Publishing Society, 1979), p. 57 .}

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