Testimony of Healing September 10, 2012 Issue

Healing and spiritual awakening

John Biggs

When I was a freshman in college, I went to a Wild West themed party where they had a mechanically operated rodeo bull. You are strapped to the bull with only a rope to hold onto, and then flung around harder and harder until you can’t hold on any more. When it was my turn to ride, I was pretty excited because I’d never ridden one before! After the first big buck, however, I felt my hand bend under the rope, and before I could yank my hand away, I felt it snap. I fell off the bull, dazed, and chose to quietly walk away in order to not attract any attention, and to settle my thought. 

I’d been raised in Christian Science, and I was accustomed to praying for healing of physical challenges, including injuries. I knew prayer could help, but was God’s presence really at a rowdy college party like this? Had I separated myself from God by attending this event? I felt pretty stupid about letting myself get into this situation, and I wasn’t sure what I should do. When I arrived back at the dorm I called my mom, telling her what had happened. I was trying to calm down, but the pain had started to get worse at this point, and I was panicking. My mother could hear how worried I was and told me it was perfectly fine to go to the hospital if I felt that was right. I had a choice. My roommate offered to drive me, and I accepted. 

At the hospital, they X-rayed my hand and told me I’d broken it and that it would take at least two months to heal. The doctor said he would prescribe me some pills, and also asked me to take some of the medication while I was there. At this point I had calmed down, and even though the pain was still there, I told him I’d rather not take the pills, and that I wanted to turn to prayer alone for healing instead. He said he’d be back in five minutes, and if I wasn’t feeling better by the time he came back, he would write me a prescription. When the doctor walked out, I silently said, “OK God, what do I do?” And right away the words to Hymn 412 in the Christian Science Hymnal came to my thought: “O dreamer, leave thy dreams for joyful waking” (Rosa M. Turner). 

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