Testimony of Healing August 17, 1992 Issue

During a period of economic recession, after my husband...

Marjorie M. Knox with contributions from Paul M. Knox

During a period of economic recession, after my husband was asked to take early retirement, our family started a small business. Eventually it seemed wise to purchase the building we had been leasing, in order to protect our investment. Our business had proved only seasonally profitable, and we were forced to pray more with our understanding of Christian Science. The purchase included an adjacent building and appeared formidable, especially since it involved selling our home and converting the large building into a small inn, which we would operate. After earnest prayer and listening for guidance, God's command to Moses "Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward" (Exodus) came forcibly to my thought.

Despite this inspiration, we discovered that the remodeling cost would amount to almost twice the original estimate. Our house had not sold, our money was running low, and we faced large mortgage payments each month. During sleepless nights we wondered, "What have we done?" But these nights also brought comforting and strengthening prayers. We tried to obey this statement by Mary Baker Eddy in Miscellaneous Writings: "Never ask for to-morrow: it is enough that divine Love is an ever-present help; and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need every moment." We endeavored to lay the whole project "on the altar," so to speak, and to understand that the substance we needed would be found in Spirit, God, instead of human efforts. Not "asking for to-morrow" sometimes involved terrific struggling, since the situation seemed so overwhelming. And as if to make the situation darker, several members of our family had been ill; the symptoms were frightening and prayer had not yet completely healed them.

One day, while working as an advertising representative for The Christian Science Monitor, I entered a lovely shop confident of obtaining an advertisement because the owner's wife had asked me to come. I was surprised to see him, since he operated another business twenty-five miles away; I had never before seen him in the shop. He declined to take the advertisement because they were searching for another location for their business and so could not give a permanent address. They seemed quite disturbed over their uncertain situation. A feeling of compassion eclipsed my disappointment in not obtaining the expected advertisement, and I found myself saying, "I'm sure there is a right place for your beautiful shop." I started out the door, and the man called to me, "You know, we just love your building. It's exactly what we would have built if we had found land in that location. I don't suppose you would consider leasing it to us, would you?" It seemed like a miracle!

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