There are many, many accounts of healing in the Bible that have inspired me. Many of them have pointed me to our perfection as “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17), and the resultant healings have filled me with gratitude.

Most recently, while out running one day, I appeared to damage an Achilles tendon. Immediately a passage from Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures came to thought: “There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all” (p. 468). To me this meant that with God in control there could be no strain, discomfort, distortion, or swelling in that leg.

I managed to run home, but when I got there, I stopped and clutched my injured leg as pain ran right through my body. Even as I continued to pray, I was honest enough to admit to myself that I wanted a quick healing so that I could get back to my running. But I soon realized that my “crazy thinking,” as I called it, had to be wiped out. That’s where I was going wrong. A switch from my preoccupation with athletic training to the expression of God’s freedom was essential to healing, along with a sincere effort to achieve more spiritual understanding—which made me think of another passage in Science and Health, “… there is no room for imperfection in perfection” (p. 424). Clearly, there was no room for any erroneous thought about me or in me, because I am a reflection of God’s perfection.

Once that truth was firmly established in my thought, I was ready to compete again—and a few weeks later did a triathlon! The joy of that race and the freedom from limitation were exhilarating. I knew I’d been healed.

I used to experience the same sort of exhilaration some years previously when I competed on the trampoline. One of the things you learn about doing tricks or stunts is when to do them. There is a point while jumping that one neither goes up nor comes down, called “suspension.”

For me, Christian Science is sometimes like that suspension. It’s a pause in one’s thinking during which fearful or sinful thoughts are eliminated so that the Christ truth can slip in and hold us secure and ready for advancement. In that moment of suspension we feel completely enveloped by God’s loving care, which is always present, and never fails.

One Friday afternoon at work, while putting some boxes into recycling, I hit my head on the edge of the bin and passed out for a few seconds. When I came to, although nauseated and dizzy, I was able to walk back to my desk. My colleagues pointed to a large lump on my head and contacted my supervisor. I told him what had happened, and he called the paramedics. I explained that I would rather telephone a Christian Science practitioner with whom I would pray for spiritual healing.

While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, I called a practitioner, who began by allaying my fear. Echoing a familiar line from First John 4:18, he made it clear to me that there is “no fear in love,” and that I was wrapped in the Love that is God, which did not include any aspect of the dream of material existence.

Within a few minutes, the swelling had gone down, and there was no evidence of a wound. So, when the paramedics arrived, I didn’t hesitate to sign a release form, confirming for me that I knew I was under divine care and accepting full responsibility for my decision not to go to the hospital to be examined.

I was able to return to work on Monday morning with no trace of injury, physical or mental. I knew that I had been suspended in Love—cared for by the comforting Christ. The healing was complete, and I know my closest office colleagues understood this healing had come about with God’s help. God is indeed “our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalms 46:1).

Karen Tracy
Boulder, Colorado, US