Healing on a cruise
Many years ago, my husband and I booked a cruise to Alaska. It was to be a celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary, and we had looked forward to the trip for a long time. But in the months prior to the cruise, my husband’s company folded, leaving him unemployed. I had to work three jobs in order to cover our expenses. To say the least, I was under a great deal of stress.
A few days before our departure, while preparing dinner for out of town guests, I felt a “pop” in my head and began to feel quite ill.
My daughter continued with making dinner while I went into another room to be alone in quiet prayer. I prayed with ideas from “the scientific statement of being” that Mary Baker Eddy gives us in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, focusing on the truth that “Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual” (p. 468 ).
After my prayers, I felt some relief and was able to have dinner. However, some discomfort remained and prevented me from sleeping that night and many nights after. I did, however, feel well enough to travel. So a few days later, my husband and I took off on our long-awaited trip to Alaska.
One day while on the cruise, I became rather upset after a disturbing conversation. Soon after this, I experienced excruciating pain in the back of my head, which later became unbearable. I went up to the lounge at the front of the ship to quietly pray with a view of the beautiful ocean ahead of us. But I found it difficult to even think.
My husband suggested that we try to contact a Christian Science practitioner by way of the ship’s “ship-to-shore” communication room (this was before cellphones and Wi-Fi Internet). The two communications workers were so busy that we weren’t able to interrupt them and make a call. So we went back to our room.
I asked my husband to read to me. He opened an issue of The Christian Science Journal that I’d brought along and read from the article, “Real security from animal magnetism” by Joanne Shriver Leedom (October 1980). The part of this article that stood out to me like a beacon was where the author explains that “evil can only suggest to human consciousness; it has no power to put the suggestion into operation.” It goes on to explain that “in a sense, Eve destroyed herself” by acting on the serpent’s suggestion to eat the forbidden fruit. In my own interpretation, I rephrased it to say that Eve took in, or believed, the lie that man was imperfect and mortal, a lie that I had also mistakenly accepted. But I saw the truth—that as God’s child, man could never be anything but perfect and spiritual. Not only did I see myself as a perfect child of God, but I also saw this was true for the person who had made me so upset earlier. The pain and discomfort I was feeling was simply a lie, or what Mary Baker Eddy names “animal magnetism,” attempting to disrupt my sense of joy on this wonderful trip.
The comforting ideas in this Journal article quieted my fear of the intense pain, and a flood of healing thoughts came to me. I accepted with full trust that there is no place where God’s love couldn’t be felt—even in the middle of the ocean. This reminded me of a verse from Psalms that reads, “If I … dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me” (139: 9, 10 ). I knew that even if it felt like I was in the “uttermost parts of the sea,” God’s love was there to help me and His “right hand” (His power and support) was always with me. I felt a strong sense of calm and an immediate release from the pain in my head. Soon I fell asleep. I hadn’t had such a peaceful sleep in many days.
The next morning, I awoke rested and the pain in my head was gone permanently. My husband and I had a glorious day enjoying the highlight of our cruise—a plane ride above the beautiful glaciers of Alaska.
Myrra Johnson
Scottsdale, Arizona, US
