Testimony of Healing July 12, 1993 Issue

The image of an anthropomorphic God, who would punish...

Louise Rickert

The image of an anthropomorphic God, who would punish me eternally for the sins of this world, set me seeking a religion whose followers lived during the week what they had professed to believe in church. A friend then introduced me to Christian Science when I moved next door to her forty years ago. Instinctively I knew I had found the truth I had been searching for, but I didn't accept it wholeheartedly. I am grateful for my friend's patience that first year.

How I argued about the statement that in Truth there is no matter! The concept was utterly incomprehensible to me because I could see matter everywhere. Then I came across the passage in Rudimental Divine Science by Mary Baker Eddy, answering the question "The sweet sounds and glories of earth and sky, assuming manifold forms and colors,—are they not tangible and material?" The author's response is, "As Mind they are real, but not as matter" (p. 6). That was the clarification I needed. From then on I began to grow spiritually. I still had problems with some statements in Science and Health, notably in the chapter entitled "Physiology." My friend suggested I leave that chapter for a time, and read other chapters first. I took her advice. Two years later I went back to that chapter ... for the life of me, I couldn't find a single thing I did not agree with!

My first healing was of neuritis in my hips and legs. This painful condition had been my lot for many winters. One particular time I went over to my friend's house almost in tears. She called a Christian Science practitioner for me. The practitioner asked us to read the weekly Bible Lesson together, and prayed for me. I had already learned that effective prayer is in affirming what is actually true of God, rather than in begging God to heal us. When we finished reading the lesson I stood up. The pain was gone. The next winter the condition appeared again, but was healed quickly through my own prayers for myself. The malady has never reappeared in the forty years since.

Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.

Send a comment to the editors
NEXT IN THIS ISSUE
Article
Notices
July 12, 1993
Contents

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit