For several years our son had been plagued with warts on his hands. Every so often a new one would develop. As the school year came to an end (he was in second grade), yet another wart appeared, this time on his face. Occasionally I would overhear a well-meaning friend of our son's ask him why he didn't put medicine on his hands to get rid of the warts. Each time I would silently affirm that warts were not included in God's spiritual creation and therefore could not touch our son's real being.

As our family began preparing for a three-month stay in another part of the country, my husband and I included this important item on our list of things to do: to pray earnestly to see our son as God has created him—free of imperfections.

In helping our son, I directed his attention to his true spiritual nature and encouraged him to work each week with the Bible Lesson outlined in the Christian Science Quarterly. When I studied the lesson, I chose specific passages that were most meaningful to me and realized that their healing message was true for our son. I also chose one of these passages each week for our son to memorize and try to put into practice throughout the week.

One difficulty had to be overcome. In the beginning, although I was studying deeply the spiritual truths of being, when I looked at our son I observed the physical symptoms for assurance that progress was being made. And sure enough, as is always the case when we look to matter for evidence of spirituality, I was disappointed. When I once again concentrated on what I was studying and learning each week of man and his perfect relationship to God, I stopped watching for physical change and was filled with assurance and expectancy of good.

Each week the statements I read from the lesson were so clear and helpful, including this one from Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy (p. 412): "The power of Christian Science and divine Love is omnipotent. It is indeed adequate to unclasp the hold and to destroy disease, sin, and death." Another week, this statement stood out to me and became one of my favorite passages to ponder (ibid., p. 463): "A spiritual idea has not a single element of error, and this truth removes properly whatever is offensive."

At one point my husband remembered the old expression "worry-wart." We thought about the subtleties this implied for our son. He had even been called this by relatives because he was often overly-concerned or worried about many things. We affirmed our son's true nature as Godlike and whole. We also recognized fear and worry as mortal beliefs that have never touched God's child, and we refuted them on that basis.

I remember walking outside during the last few weeks of summer and saying to my husband that even though the physical picture wasn't encouraging, I felt that healing was taking place. I also told him that I felt rewarded and uplifted by my efforts to accept the task we had undertaken—to view our son as the perfect idea of God's creating.

A couple of days later our son came home and told us that the growth had fallen off his face. His next remark was that this probably happened because he had been working with and using the Bible Lesson more each week. I was so grateful for his childlike acceptance of the fact that prayer brings tangible results. He also commented that the bumps on his hands seemed to be shrinking, which proved to be the case.

I continued my weekly quest to learn fresh and invigorating truths of man as God's image. By the time our son went back to school in September, his face and hands were clear and without blemish, and they have remained so.

Christian Science heals! I am indeed grateful.

Debbie Caldwell
Royal Oak, Michigan

The healing my wife has recorded has been a milestone in our family. Through persistent prayer, the error was seen as nothingness. I am grateful for this ray of light and hope.

Clayton Edward Caldwell

I am the son mentioned in the testimony. I remember that each week during that summer I talked to my mom about one part of the Bible Lesson. I would try to memorize and use that part during the week. When I noticed my hands improving, I knew it was because I had been working harder to understand what the Bible and Science and Health passages meant and to see what was true about me. The healing took place as my mom has written.

Josh Caldwell