I love sports. Skiing and ice hockey are two favorites. In December 1972, I dislocated my shoulder in a skiing accident, and was taken to a hospital to have the shoulder reset. Over the next 16 years, I dislocated my shoulder several more times.

A couple of these times I was able to quiet my thought enough to pray, and after a few minutes of prayer, the shoulder went back into place. On other occasions, I had to go to a hospital to have the shoulder set by a physician. During and after each of these events, I prayed together with a Christian Science practitioner to strengthen and restore my shoulder once and for all, but because of the nature of the problem, it was difficult to measure progress, and I would all too soon stop praying specifically for this issue and move on.

The last time I dislocated my shoulder was in 1988, while playing ice hockey. I was very discouraged about my future participation in sports, and I went to a surgeon for an examination. He told me that because of my age and the amount of damage to my shoulder, there was nothing that could be done that would allow me to play hockey. He said that even if I played no further sports of any kind, an operation would have only a 60 percent chance of success. But he recommended that I proceed with the operation because, as he said, my shoulder was in such bad condition that it was likely to fall apart while I was just walking down the street.

I was very discouraged by this assessment. I couldn't imagine life without sports. I went home and called my mother, a Christian Science practitioner, to tell her the surgeon's report. She assured me that Christian Science could heal this problem. Because I didn't feel that surgery could hold any long-term solution for me, I agreed to treat my shoulder through prayer in Christian Science. Our routine was that I would call my mom in the morning when I got up. I'd write down concepts she shared and note citations from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy that she had chosen to pray with. And I would study those carefully and pray with them before I went to work. I would think about these ideas on the drive to and from work. At lunch time and other breaks during the day, I'd take out my notes. At night, before going to bed, I'd continue praying with all the ideas once more.

My prayer covered many topics: my identity as an indestructible, spiritual creation of God, my safety under the constant protection of God's messages to me, and my purpose as an expression of God. The goal of my study was to establish firmly in thought a constant awareness of what God was causing me to be. For example, He was causing me to express the many spiritual attributes that go into a good game of hockey—strength, agility, grace, accuracy, endurance, to name just a few. I saw myself as an athelete dedicated to a rigorous training program; only in this case the program was entirely metaphysical. I resolved to myself that I would continue until I was healed—even if it took years.

The idea of my unity with God was particularly inspiring. In Science and Health I read, "The scientific unity which exists between God and man must be wrought out in life-practice ..." (p. 202). And in another one of Mrs. Eddy's writings I found this helpful statement: "... Be allied to the deific power, and all that is good will aid your journey, as the stars in their courses fought against Sisera (Judges v. 20). Hourly, in Christian Science, man thus weds himself with God, or rather he ratifies a union predestined from all eternity..." (Unity of Good, p. 17). Passages such as these gave me a heartfelt conviction that I had a permanent unity with God that could not be broken or dislocated. And that this perfect union was not an abstract metaphysical concept, but could be outwardly expressed in every aspect of my life, including the structure and movement of my body. Just as God's laws move the stars in perfect order, my unity with God meant that I could expect my shoulder to move according to the divine law of order.

After two months, the hockey season was beginning. I wanted to play and felt strengthened and ready to go back on the ice. In addition to my daily study and prayer, I kept my mother informed of all my games, and we prayed specifically every time before I went on the ice. The purpose of my pre-game prayer was to establish firmly in thought the truths I had been studying and to remove any lingering fears or concerns. After about six months, I felt that enough progress had been made that I reduced my calls for help through prayer to once a week. After a year, I felt that I could continue praying on my own. I continue to pray before every hockey game.

Since the day the surgeon told me I could never play hockey again, I've played more than 500 games without injuring my shoulder. My shoulder is strong and sound. And I also enjoy tennis and skiing.

Colin G. Treworgy
Creve Coeur, Missouri