Testimony of Healing May 29, 1995 Issue

A healing I had several years ago clearly showed me the scientific,...

Roberta JoAnne Brown

A healing I had several years ago clearly showed me the scientific, or exact, nature of Christian Science treatment. I had a growth inside one ear. For several days and nights I prayed and spent many hours using Concordances to the Bible and to the writings of Mrs. Eddy. This prayer and study brought a promise of healing and a feeling of assurance; however, the physical condition remained unchanged.

After about one week, I spent an entire evening praying diligently. As I went to bed, I distinctly remember telling myself, "Well, God will heal this and take care of me. I can't do any more."

Early the next morning I woke from a sound sleep, as if someone were speaking to me. In thought was the word efface. Realizing this word must be an answer to my prayer, but not knowing what it meant, I pulled out a dictionary. The definition reads in part, "to cause to disappear by rubbing out; to obliterate." A search of Mrs. Eddy's writings showed she used this word sparingly, but, I thought, effectively. While I read all the references to this word and its derivatives, one particular passage in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures was particularly helpful: "One should never hold in mind the thought of disease, but should efface from thought all forms and types of disease, both for one's own sake and for that of the patient" (p. 396). Also helpful was the marginal heading "Effacing images of disease."