Testimony of Healing March 16, 1998 Issue

Grief healed and health restored

Alice D. Walden

In 1995 my husband of forty-two years passed on. He was not a Christian Scientist and had been in and out of hospitals for several years. At the time of his passing, I read a testimony that so met my need that my grief was quickly healed. I hope this testimony can help someone, too.

Several times during the years my husband was ill, I found myself struggling with a physical problem involving elimination; this became very aggressive at his passing. One day when I was studying the Bible Lesson (found in the Christian Science Quarterly), searching for an answer, the thought of irritation came to mind. It came to me very clearly that while I had often expressed gratitude for the good work done by the nursing staffs wherever my husband had been hospitalized, I had been extremely irritated by our experience with many of his physicians.

I realized that I was still very angry, and prayed for the right thought to overcome these feelings. Immediately the words Christ Jesus spoke while on the cross came to me: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). Tears came as I saw that I, too, could and needed to forgive. Immediately the anger left, and so did the physical problem. It has not troubled me since. I later remembered this statement in Science and Health: "If mortal mind knew how to be better, it would be better" (p. 186). On occasions when the anger has tried to resurface, it has been quickly overcome. This healing has shown me how vitally important it is to watch my thinking and endeavor to bring "into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (II Cor. 10:5).