In Christian Science I've learned that I am never really alone. God is always right at hand, and His active love constantly provides all that we need.

One evening I tried out a recipe I'd read for making peanut butter in a blender. I must have overloaded the blender because when I turned it on, the container popped out of its base and sailed into the air, exposing whirring knives spewing peanut butter all over the kitchen. Without thinking, I grabbed for the container, and my thumb went into the knives.

With my other hand I turned off the blender, then leaned against the counter, stunned. At first my only thought was "I don't believe this." Then in just a few seconds the understanding I had gained of Truth through my long study and application of Christian Science asserted itself, and I heard myself shouting, "Nothing has happened. I am the perfect, unharmed, spiritual idea of God. I am whole and complete because that's the way God made me."

There was pain, and I saw that the thumb was badly gashed. I felt the need of prayerful support, so I telephoned a Christian Science practitioner.

The practitioner's calm, loving assurances of God's all-encompassing care and of my uninjured, intact, spiritual identity, were very comforting. Then she said, "I'll pray for you. Call me back in ten minutes."

Within ten minutes the shock had dissipated and I was thinking clearly. Both the bleeding and pain had lessened. Using one hand, I concocted a bandage of sorts. Then I cleaned up the mess in the kitchen, went to bed, and slept comfortably all night.

Over the next several days the practitioner continued to pray, and I pondered my spiritual selfhood as God's reflection until I felt certain that in reality nothing can harm the true, spiritual man because God is in control and He loves man, including me. In less than a week the thumb looked and functioned as it should, and it has continued to do so. At this point the practitioner's work was discontinued, with much gratitude.

Then two other difficulties surfaced which I felt I should handle myself: self-condemnation and fear of using the blender. The latter I eyed warily like it was something from outer space and I wouldn't go near it. Both of these mental snags were uprooted by a joyous sense of gratitude for the physical healing, for God's love, for Science and for the practitioner's staunch, compassionate prayers.

The self-condemnation was routed when I realized through prayer that divine Mind had never allowed me, in my true selfhood as its beloved offspring, to be guilty of witless behavior. As for the blender, a few days later I bought some cabbage in a supermarket, took it home and, without fear, made coleslaw in the blender. I've been using the appliance ever since.

This incident proved for me that being alone is never a deterrent to the vibrant healing action of God's laws. Not once during the experience did I feel alone, but rather in the words of Hymn 278 from the Christian Science Hymnal I felt "Cared for, watched over, beloved and protected."

Eve Warwick
Peoria, Arizona