Symptoms of heart condition healed
A little over ten years ago, I had several physical problems come up in the few months before Christmas. In the early fall, I started feeling symptoms of a heart condition that were of concern to me. When the disturbing pains first began, I contacted a Christian Science practitioner for prayerful treatment. This kind of treatment acknowledges our inseparable relationship with our Father-Mother God, showing that everyone is a child of God, not a child of matter who is susceptible to heredity from mortal parents. The practitioner and I spoke daily and shared many ideas about my spiritual daughterhood and the fact that I did not need to be afraid, because God was caring for me.
The idea of being God’s daughter was very helpful during this challenging time, because about 15 years prior to this, both of my parents had passed on from what was labeled as heart-related conditions. While knowledge of this could have frightened me and tempted me to run to get a diagnosis, I knew that I could trust prayer and a better apprehension of my one divine Parent as the sole agent in healing. I had also witnessed many healings through prayer alone, both of myself, my family, and others, so I knew that I could trust my life to God, who is truly the one and only Life.
The Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, states in her seminal work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “Matter has no life to lose, and Spirit never dies” (p. 275 ). I kept this thought, along with the idea of being a child of God, in the forefront of my thinking as the practitioner and I worked together for about two months.
One day close to Thanksgiving of that year, I realized that I was free of any pains. My gratitude was unbounded. During the many weeks before, I had continued to work full time as a Christian Science nurse at a Christian Science nursing facility, play with my children and tend to their needs after my long ten-hour days were done, and do the usual household chores.
About two weeks after the healing mentioned above, I started to experience the symptoms of a bad cold, and I soon lost my voice. While I continued to pray, not having a voice was a big problem at work, because my duties included frequently answering phone calls. Again I called the same dear practitioner, and one night when we were talking, she so easily and naturally just asked me what I thought I needed to learn. Right at that moment it came to me, “I need to stop voicing error about people.” Both she and I knew what that meant, because I had voiced many complaints to her about certain people over the previous weeks. I needed to see that all God’s children are wholly good and that anything suggesting otherwise was really a lie about God’s creation.
I had basically stopped voicing negative thoughts about others out loud, but the practitioner was quick to discern that I was still voicing them in my thinking, so they were still having a voice. I immediately got to work that night in prayer and rejected those lies as untrue about anyone, and I replaced the false suggestions with what God was seeing about His dear children. I refused to allow myself to witness anything bad about anyone’s true spiritual identity, and within a day I found myself free.
Whereas I had been unable even to speak before, now I could sing, and I rejoiced! It was just about Christmas at this point, and I was so grateful that I could sing Christmas carols and hymns. What a joy to see this demonstration of healing at such a wonderful time of the year. While it seems that we celebrate Christmas only once a year, we truly should celebrate it all the time. I love what Mrs. Eddy says about the Christ in The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany: “To-day the Christ is, more than ever before, ‘the way, the truth, and the life,’—‘which lighteth every man that cometh into the world,’ healing all sorrow, sickness, and sin” (p. 257 ). This healing Christ was definitely proved to me that Christmas season many years ago, and it continues to bless me and my family now. I am so grateful.
Margaret White Penfield
Oviedo, Florida, US
