Testimony of Healing November 7, 2011 Issue

Growth gone, character improved

Richard Adolph

About four and a half years ago a growth appeared on my body. It started very small and grew at a minuscule rate. Because of this and its location in an inconspicuous place, my urgency in seeking healing wasn’t as imperative as it should have been, although I did pray about it from its initial appearance.

During the next several years, the growth gradually enlarged and took on an unsightly appearance. Although I thought about many truths taught in the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, I eventually realized that a more consecrated and focused approach was necessary.

The following passage from Science and Health was most helpful: “The counter fact relative to any disease is required to cure it” (p. 233). In order to apply this approach I needed to identify the prominent false beliefs. Two stood out. First, that matter had intelligence, life, and was a creative power. This didn’t appeal to my logic. Could the essence of life be located within this useless, inharmonious lump of matter? Was this ugly growth true substance, part of the animating power of the universe? It was almost laughable to think so. Even the dictionary defines substance as the “ultimate reality that underlies all outward manifestations . . .” (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary). What was I accepting as the ultimate reality? 