Testimony of Healing October 7, 2013 Issue

Pain gives way to Truth

Thomas C. Blair

Years ago some friends and I decided to drive from Boston to the Grand Canyon to raft down the Colorado River. There were several carloads of young Christian Scientists looking forward to the ten-day white-water raft trip. The night before we were to hike down to the bottom of the canyon to meet the guides, we camped out. Rising early in the morning, we packed our gear into the cars and started toward the trailhead. I was one of the drivers. I didn’t see a stop sign and drove through it, and I was hit broadside by an oncoming car, with the driver’s side taking the full impact of the collision. There were no injuries other than mine. The left side of my body from shoulder to ankle was badly bruised and painful. 

The prayerful support I felt from my companions was immediate and calming. I thought there was no way I would be able to join the group, so I asked that they go down to the bottom of the canyon without me. All went except one person, who stayed behind, encouraging me. As soon as I could, I called my mom to help me through prayer. She said she would pray immediately. I recall feeling that same calming effect that was so prevalent during earlier experiences when I had relied on Christian Science for healing.

I remember sitting down by a tree and praying—trying to see clearly my identity as a child of God and my absolute oneness with Him. The car was towed to a holding yard, as it was not drivable. The friend who stayed with me said we could still meet up with the group if we took a shorter but much steeper path down to the bottom of the canyon. The path was rough and the weather was hot, but I was feeling better and decided it would be OK to go. Shortly after, on the way down, I began to experience more pain, and hiking with my heavy backpack was almost unbearable. Yet I didn’t feel led to turn back. Instead, I found myself mentally singing my way down the path, step by step, filling every thought with the words of Hymn 139, “I walk with Love along the way” (Minny M. H. Ayers, Christian Science Hymnal). Eventually we made it down on time and joined the group.

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