For nearly fifty years I've been learning to place top priority on the obedience and gratitude expressed in these lines from a poem by Mary Baker Eddy (Miscellaneous Writings, p. vii):

One balmy spring day, when filling a large rubbish receptacle, I stepped onto the wheelbarrow nearby, intent on compacting the contents of the trash barrel with one leg. But the wheelbarrow tipped over, leaving me astraddle the sharp edge of the bin, two or three feet above the ground. When my foot finally found the edge of the wheelbarrow, I was able to extricate my other leg from the trash bin. But there was considerable discomfort afterward.

For some days previous to this experience, I had been thinking deeply about a statement in No and Yes by Mrs. Eddy (p. 24): "There was never a moment in which evil was real." This is followed by the assurance "This great fact concerning all error brings with it another and more glorious truth, that good is supreme." In the face of some alarming bodily feelings and difficulty in moving normally following the mishap, the thought came that now I must prove the truth of what I'd been studying.

For the next day or two I became engrossed in the accounts of quick healings in the book of Acts in the Bible, in the chapter "Fruitage" from Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, and also in the book A Century of Christian Science Healing. I never had a single doubt that complete reliance on God would bring about the healing. On the fourth day I was actively walking and completely normal in every respect. There were no further difficulties.

A few months after this healing, I had an opportunity to apply God's laws in a situation involving deceptive business practices.

A mechanically minded friend and I spent most of one Saturday seeking a late-model used car with low mileage for me to purchase. I had a well-cared-for, five-year-old car to trade. At last we found what we were looking for and I wrote a sizable check to purchase the car. A few days later, however, the insurance company informed me that, according to information based on the vehicle's identification number, the car was actually a year older than the written sales record claimed.

Over the next several days, I had discussions with personnel at higher and higher levels of authority at the auto dealership. During this time I clung steadfastly to Christ Jesus' statement (John 8:32) "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

When patience was strained, and when I was even tempted to take legal action, this reassuring yet radical (to human sense) message drowned out the mental clamor (Science and Health, p. 95): "Error of any kind cannot hide from the law of God."

The aggressive suggestion of having been tricked had to be dealt with, as well as my anger at the lack of response to my complaint by those in authority. These impositions were silenced after I read about how at one time Mrs. Eddy had the following words displayed on her bedroom wall: "When others hate, oppose, ignore,/ help me, dear God, to love them more." I prayed this way and worked to live that prayer.

Ten days after the sale, the dealership agreed to having a factory specialist examine the car. His word would settle the matter. The specialist found that the car was a year older than what I'd been told, and a refund equaling the amount of depreciation was paid without further quibbling.

I am grateful for a more systematic study and a deeper understanding of Science as a result of Primary class instruction from a consecrated teacher, as well as for the blessings that have flowed to loved ones and myself from putting these teachings into practice.

William J. Turrie
Phoenix, Arizona