At one point my son, Don, was invited to be on the varsity...

At one point my son, Don, was invited to be on the varsity football team of his high school. This was a dream come true for him. It is required that each football player take a yearly physical examination to determine his fitness for this strenuous sport, and so my son was examined.

When I came home from the office on the day of the exam, Don told me that the doctor had not signed his release and wanted me to call him. The doctor's first words to me were, "Your son will never play football." He said that Don had an incurable heart condition and would always have to live a quiet life in order to live at all. The doctor asked me to bring Don to his clinic on Saturday for further examination to determine what limited physical activity he could engage in. I agreed to do this. Then I told Don all that the doctor had said.

"Mom, you mean I can never play football again?" This was a cry of total despair! I said, "Son, this is a medical diagnosis, made with great care and consideration for you and the team. But after all we have learned through Christian Science, do we really have to accept this?"

This happened on Wednesday. I asked Don if he would be willing to spend every spare moment until Saturday in prayer and study with me. He loved Christian Science and attended a christian Science Sunday School regularly, but I think he loved football even more! However, he was up against it, so he agreed.

We had a wonderful time. We studied the healings of Christ Jesus in the Bible. We saw how compassionate he was toward those he healed. We noted that Jesus had completely disregarded matter as having anything to do with man's true identity. When he healed the man at the pool of Bethesda he said, "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk" (John).

This man had not walked for thirty-eight years. Yet Jesus did not say, "Lean on me; your legs are weak because you haven't used them for a long time. I'll help you up and heal you." No! The man obeyed Jesus' command: "And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked" (John). What a marvelous illustration of God's law in operation, and of mankind's receptivity to it.

Using a Concordance, we explored Mary Baker Eddy's writings to see what she has to say about heart, body, man, function, and life. The research was inspiring and joyous, not heavy with the feeling that we had three days to meet this condition so that Don could play football!

One statement in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mrs. Eddy really stood out to us: "Correct material belief by spiritual understanding, and Spirit will form you anew. You will never fear again except to offend God, and you will never believe that heart or any portion of the body can destroy you."

The next day we went to the doctor's office. I stayed in the waiting room. In about an hour the doctor and Don came out. The doctor was carrying charts over his arm and shaking his head. He said, "What have you been doing between Wednesday and today? I have given this boy several tests, and the conclusive evidence that was there on Wednesday is just not here today. He is perfectly sound. I can release him for all the strenuous activity he wants. What has brought about this remarkable change?"

Don told him that we were Christian Scientists and that we had been praying. The doctor told him to keep it up because it obviously worked.

Don went on to play three years of varsity football in high school and four years in college. He then was assistant football coach at a college for seven years. He also played rugby and tennis. There was never a return of the condition.

The beautiful part of this healing was that as a result, being a Christian Scientist and living Science became Don's objective. Everything else was secondary, including football!

Rhea Robertson Buck
Seattle, Washington

I am the son mentioned in the above testimony. I'm grateful and happy to have my mother recount this healing for publication.

I would like to add that this particular healing really changed my outlook on life, specifically my commitment to Christian Science. It opened my eyes to the fact of man's true nature—that he is not a flimsy mortal who is at the beck and call of every so-called material law; he is a spiritual idea of God.

There have been many times when this healing has reassured me and led me to learn more of God and His spiritual image, man. This has resulted in my complete reliance on God in meeting some severe physical difficulties and in the course of my daily activity.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for my mother and my grandmother because of the courageous and beautiful examples they've set for me over the years. Thanks to them, turning to God directly for help has been as natural as breathing in our family. Christian Science is truly not just a system of healing or a religion but a way of life for me.

Donald Scott Houge
Boston, Massachusetts