I was raised in Christian Science and have studied it all my life. What has always meant the most to me is that Christian Science challenges me to consider the way I think about myself and my life from a spiritual basis. I have had many physical healings over the years, but am especially grateful for one that required much spiritual growth, as it took several years to complete.

Over a decade ago, I began to have problems with my back. At first, it was just occasional stiffness. I dismissed it as simple fatigue connected with my line of work, which involved sitting for long periods of time. But one morning while snowblowing my driveway, I severely wrenched my back. When I went inside and looked at myself in a mirror, it was clear something was physically out of alignment. For the next several days, my mobility was restricted and lying down was the only way I could be comfortable. I spent many hours listening to CDs of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. I also called a Christian Science practitioner to pray with me.

After a few days I was better, but over the next several years this condition would return off and on, each time with more frequency and intensity. I started experiencing what would probably be called "spasms"—brief painful attacks where my back would become immobile. I had to take more and more days off work, and soon my supervisor was asking me about it. When I told him of my trouble he said, "Oh yeah, I've had back problems for years and let me tell you, it just gets worse and never goes away!"

That really got me thinking. Was I destined to suffer with back trouble for the rest of my life? That certainly seemed to be what my body and general material health theories were saying. But I had learned from the study of Christian Science that I am the idea of God, divine Mind, and am therefore spiritual, not material. Mrs. Eddy stated in Science and Health, "Man is not matter; he is not made up of brain, blood, bones and other material elements" (p. 475). From this I reasoned that if I was not made up of matter, then there was nothing material that could impede my movement or cause me pain. So what needed to be healed? Did some physical area need to be changed, manipulated, or operated on? I saw that the answer to that question was No—it was my concept of myself that needed to be changed. A new and deeper view of my true spiritual makeup was required. Once again, I turned to a passage in Science and Health: "You embrace your body in your thought, and you should delineate upon it thoughts of health, not of sickness" (p. 208).

I decided at that moment that I would take a radical, unwavering stand for my spiritual identity. From then on, I resisted any inclination to accept the notion that I'd be forever plagued by a severe back condition, or that it had any part of my real being.

But then one day I had another serious attack. Any position I tried caused intense pain. I called a practitioner, and my family immediately began to pray for me. Fear tried to convince me to go to a hospital emergency room, but I held to the truth that the problem was not in my back. I spent a sleepless night in prayer, trying to better understand that as God's beloved child, I was free and unencumbered by a physical body. From that night on, I made steady progress until I gained complete freedom of all the symptoms.

A month went by, then a year, and then another. I realized that the back trouble was completely gone. This healing has been complete for nearly four years. And not only do I no longer have any challenges with my back, those muscles are now more supple and flexible than they have been in years. More important, I've had a complete mental change regarding this situation. I no longer avoid heavy physical activity or treat my back gingerly. The fear that I might experience this condition again has completely vanished.

During this period, I was required to take a physical examination every two years to maintain my commercial driver's license. At one exam, the doctor told me I had excessively high blood pressure. But when the back condition was resolved, I also had a complete healing, through prayer, of the high blood pressure. This was medically verified two years later.

Words cannot express my appreciation for Mrs. Eddy for showing me the practical power of the Science of Mind. Christian Science has blessed my family for four generations, and continues to do so today.

RICHARD D. SOULE
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIFORNIA, US