As A Child, I had eczema. The physicians prescribed tar baths and topical ointments in an attempt to relieve my suffering. The remedies gave me some relief, but no cure.

As they treated the problem, the doctors were focused primarily on the physical condition. The mind-body connection wasn't taken as seriously then as it is today, so other factors weren't taken into consideration.

What I have learned, however, about God, about divine power, and about the spiritual nature of God's creation, as a result of my study of Christian Science, has changed my life. Christian Science has shown me just how extensive the mental nature of all the conditions of human life is, and how spiritual power heals and transforms such conditions.

When I first started seriously studying Christian Science during college, I would say to myself, "If this statement is true, then this result must follow." At first I wasn't convinced that the ideas I was learning in Sunday School and through studying Science and Health were actually the truth. But as I accepted the ideas and saw how they applied to my life, I trusted the truth that I was beginning to understand. And I had healings.

As I grew up, the eczema continued on and off, though in a reduced form. When I began graduate school, however, I had a severe flare-up. By then, I was fully committed to making the truth of Christian Science practical in my life, and my approach to the problem was very different from that of earlier times. I had begun to understand that I am the idea of God, and that my physical condition is a manifestation of my mental state. So instead of turning to a material remedy of topical ointments or tar baths, I turned to God to see what in my life needed to be brought into line with Him.

I knew that I could depend on God's healing power. I examined my thought, which I recognized could be improved. The self-righteousness and arrogance I uncovered there reminded me of the story of Naaman from the Bible (see II Kings 5:1-14). Naaman was a proud and powerful Syrian commander-in-chief who was a leper. A young Israelite who worked for his wife told her mistress about the healings performed by the prophet Elisha, in Israel.

When Elisha learned about Naaman's need, he sent word to Naaman that he should bathe in the Jordan River seven times. The fact that Elisha did not come to speak to him in person and that he asked him to wash in an Israelite river instead of, in Naaman's opinion, a far superior Syrian river, infuriated Naaman. At first he refused to step into the Jordan. But some of his subordinates convinced him that he should. He did, and he was healed.

His willingness to bathe in the Jordan signified a change in his thinking—a relinquishment of pride and self-will. To me, Naaman's actions indicated his willingness to give up his stubborn nationalism, and this change in thought resulted in healing.

I, too, was being self-righteous and willful. I had graduated from one university to attend another graduate school, which I had found to be stubbornly proud. I felt irritated and angered by the arrogance that seemed to be indigenous to my new school, and my pride kept me from fully entering the waters of my new experience. I realized my need to give up this fierce "nationalism" (attachment to my former school) and self-righteousness. So I strove to exchange arrogance for humility and to appreciate my new experience.

Looking at the evidence of eczema and worrying about it was not the mental state that would bring healing. I concentrated instead on expressing greater spirituality, trusting that focusing on God, divine Truth, was what was needed.

I prayed alone and sometimes with a Christian Science practitioner to feel more peace, contentment, and love. I also embraced more spirituality in my thinking and actions. As a result, I was completely freed of eczema and have never had a recurrence. I also had a fulfilling and enriching time doing graduate work at my new school.