Testimony of Healing January 1, 2001 ISSUE

Purity brings physical healing

Ann Brown

Six years ago, I found that a number of lumps had appeared under my arms. Although they were not painful, I knew it was not right for me to have them. I asked a Christian Science practitioner to pray with me.

I studied references in the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. One passage spoke to me very clearly about how I was to keep my thought pure moment by moment, regardless of what was going on: "It is the spiritualization of thought and Christianization of daily life, in contrast with the results of the ghastly farce of material existence; it is chastity and purity, in contrast with the downward tendencies and earthward gravitation of sensualism and impurity, which really attest the divine origin and operation of Christian Science" (Science and Health, p. 272 ).

I found myself praying to cleanse my thought of resentment.

I found myself praying to cleanse my thought of resentment. This was a wonderfully progressive and freeing thing for me to do. During this time I was committed to learning all I could about my relationship with God.

I remember praying day and night for comfort, peace, and answers to many questions I had. As I prayed, it became clear to me that although forgiveness of others was a crucial step toward the recognition of my salvation, it wasn't the last step for me to take to gain complete peace about my life.

I had learned that since I was created by God, and since God is pure and sinless, I, as His child, must be pure and sinless, too. I continued to reason that all God's children, created equally by Him, were pure and sinless. In order to escape the fear and anxiety I'd been feeling, I had to see beyond the lie that God could make me sick or sinful. Instead of remaining caught up in the fear of the lumps, I endeavored to see myself and others as God had created us. This was a purer view, and it gave me great relief.

The lumps did not disappear immediately. The practitioner and I continued to pray daily. I mentioned to him the fact that I was going to an event and planned to wear a dress that would not cover the lumps. I don't recall his exact response, yet I remember feeling comforted when I hung up the telephone after talking with him. Later that day I went for a jog in a nearby park.

While I was running (and praying!) this thought came to me from

Science and Health: "Whatever it is your duty to do, you can do without harm to yourself" (p. 385 ). It was as if a mathematical problem I had been struggling with had finally been explained to me in a way I could understand it. In that brief moment I saw how I was able to live as God was commanding me to live—freely. I was free of the fear that my health was in danger. I was able to know, with confidence, that nothing could stop me from understanding what purity was or from being pure.

The lumps quickly went away, and there have not been any aftereffects.

I love God and try hard to listen for, and be obedient to, His direction daily. I am most thankful for the loving practitioner who consistently encouraged me to trust Him, even when it seemed very difficult for me to do that.

Ann Brown
Coronado, California

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