Testimony of Healing August 22, 2005 Issue

SKIN CONDITION HEALED

RUTH KARP

Around the time I became a student of Christian Science, I developed an aggressive skin condition that persisted over several years. During this time, I was working with a Christian Science practitioner who prayed daily for me, and I visisted him weekly in his office. At one point I went to see a medical doctor about the condition. He said I could try a form of long-term treatment, but he was not sure it could cure the condition. I decided to stay with prayer-based treatment.

At first my clothes covered the affected skin, but the condition continued to spread and moved toward my face. I was becoming increasingly afraid. During one tearful conversation with the Christian Science practitioner, he asked me about my expectations for healing. He was a loving person and cared deeply about me as a patient, so I wondered at first why he'd asked, when I certainly wanted to be healed. But while I could not understand what he meant, his reliance on God and expectation of healing were radical and firm, and the expression of God's love sometimes comes as a gentle wake-up message.

I went home after a long day and took a shower. As I showered, I prayed and thought about the practitioner's question. The opening verse of a hymn came to mind:

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