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"Rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself"...
"Rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself" (Hab. 3:16). This is how I felt about my teeth. Yet I resisted a trip to the dentist. As a new member of a Christian Science branch church, I had united with a church "designed to commemorate the word and works of our Master, which should reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing" (Manual of The Mother Church by Mrs. Eddy, p. 17). I took this as a serious commitment. I thought I should prove that prayer could heal my teeth.
The more I tried to change bad matter into good matter, the worse it became—it was disturbing that pieces of my teeth were actually breaking off. I'd had many visits to dentists in previous years, but still felt it would now represent failure if I were to resort to other means besides prayer.
Perhaps what I really needed to heal was the stubbornness of human will about not taking this practical step. Jesus said, "Not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). Also, I had to learn that Christian Science is not primarily a health-care system. (This is why I had prayed ineffectively—I had been trying merely to change bad teeth to good teeth.)
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May 22, 1995 issue
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Generation gap? Not in values!
by Kim Shippey
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Raising children
Anne H. Cooling
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Where was my peace?
Caitlin Shannon
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Survivor or victor?
Sandy Vance
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We can forgive and forget
Written for the Sentinel
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The freedom that comes with proper identification
Harold E. Faller
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Precipice-standing or rock-firm?
Edmonde L. St. John
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Step inside the open door
Helen Lapp
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Me? An expert?
Russ Gerber
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Walking in a healer's shoes
Barbara M. Vining
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"Rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself"...
Nancy Gayle Nichols
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One day at my gymnastics class I was playing on a trampoline,...
Meredith McCook with contributions from Debra McCook
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Science and Health says clearly: "Not muscles, nerves, nor...
Bernice B. Doane