Testimony of Healing December 14, 1992 Issue

I will always remember my first healing in Christian Science...

Carol Wait Ames with contributions from Janie Dale

I Will always remember my first healing in Christian Science while in elementary school. I had fallen from an aboveground pool ladder onto a concrete patio while still in a sitting position. There was much pain. I went inside to think about passages from the Bible and from the chapter in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy entitled "Prayer." I remember realizing I had a choice either to dwell on the pain and feel sorry for myself, or to trust God and live the spiritual truths I'd been thinking about. I chose the latter, and within minutes the pain that had made it uncomfortable even to sit on a soft couch disappeared. Within a couple of days, severe bruises also disappeared.

This healing and subsequent ones I had at school and summer camp were foundational. Later in my teenage years, when well-meaning friends questioned how I knew Christian Science was really true and not just some nice theory I had grown up with, I remembered such healings, attained through demonstration of the truths of Christian Science. These healings were proof to me, during times of doubt or confusion, that Christian Science is true and factual, not just theoretical. They were proof that there is a God whose healing power is always available and practical.

Later, during a college summer break at the beach near Galveston, I was stung by a jellyfish. My shoulder felt as if burned by a hot wire. I immediately left the water and put a shirt on over my swimsuit. I went for a walk down the beach and prayed. I remembered that "all of God's creatures, moving in the harmony of Science, are harmless, useful, indestructible" (Science and Health). I knew that in God's universe only His harmonious order, His goodness, and His love have power. I affirmed in prayer that God alone is the only cause and creator, and that every one of His ideas is in its right place at all times; these ideas cannot interfere with or harm one other. I continued walking along the beach and praying in this way until I felt at peace and without fear. I was aware suddenly that the pain had completely vanished. Since the shirt was making me too hot, I removed it without thinking of the sting. A friend said, "I don't know whether you realize it, but you've had quite a healing. The marks that were on your shoulder have completely disappeared and your skin is clear." I silently thanked God.

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