Heart trouble healed

Patty Wilson

One beautiful day when I was living in Washington, DC, I took a great bike ride on a trail along the Potomac River on my way to visit one of my daughters. It was only a few miles, but a strong headwind made the ride strenuous as well as enjoyable. That night, however, I began to have strong heart palpitations—something I’d never experienced before. I was tempted to blame it on my biking that day, but I tossed that reasoning aside because Christian Science has taught me that I cannot suffer for doing something good, even if it is strenuous. God doesn’t make us pay a penalty for honest activity. The thumping in my chest continued right through the weekend, despite my earnest prayers affirming God’s harmonious control of all His children.

Monday morning found me pondering the Lord’s Prayer, which is often a starting point for my day. This time, I didn’t get past the first two words, “Our Father” when this question came: “Whose Father—whose Father is God?” In answer, I started to name neighbors, church members, family members, groups of people in the community—all part of God’s family.

But another question popped up on top of the first: “Is God so-and-so’s Father?” I couldn’t believe my ears! I hadn’t thought of this individual for several months, but I suddenly realized that I had not been thinking of this man as a child of God. Rather, I had him all mapped out as a mortal sinner, and I was holding this picture of him in my mental archives.

I knew this was inconsistent with my desire to uphold everyone’s spiritual innocence, so I began at once to correct my thoughts about that man. I didn’t have any trouble forgiving him—letting go of those critical thoughts. Instead of harboring a sense of flawed personality, I began to glorify God’s goodness expressed throughout His creation. For me, it was a matter of responding to this statement in Science and Health: “If you believe in and practise wrong knowingly, you can at once change your course and do right” (p. 253).

As soon as I did this, my physical health corresponded with my changed mental state. The heart palpitations stopped and settled back into a normal rhythm, and I just put the whole thing behind me.

Then several days later, I received a package in the mail. It was from the very individual I’d been tempted to condemn. He was fulfilling an obligation he’d made to a friend several months before, to return some items that had been borrowed, along with a gift of a substantial amount of money he’d been asked to convey to me. I’d had no prior knowledge of this arrangement, so it was quite a surprise to me.

I feel that it was the Christ, Truth, that uncovered the ugly, mistaken concepts I’d been holding in thought about this individual. Making the needed correction was sufficient cause for gratitude because my desire is to consistently see everyone as a child of God. The man’s subsequent follow-through, while also gratifying, was simply the frosting on the cake. It’s been over 15 years since this healing, and I’ve never had any heart trouble since.

Patty Wilson
Seoul, Korea

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