Sports injuries healed
I am grateful for many sports-related injuries healed over the past 60 years. Some of these healings took place over a period of time, while others occurred instantaneously.
The first one I remember happened when I was eight years old. I ran into a fence on my bicycle, dislocating my little toe. The condition was healed with a calm assurance that God is ever present and omniactive—that is, that there is no action or movement outside of God’s harmonious action. My mother reassured me that I was the expression of God, which helped me to see myself as a spiritual idea under His constant care. The healing came instantaneously. That same day I was back outside, running in bare feet.
Many other healings followed. A notable one took place in college, when I developed a knee effusion, commonly known as “water on the knee.” I was a pole vaulter, and there was an important competition I needed to get ready for. I called on a Christian Science practitioner, who audibly walked me through the section in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy called “Mental Treatment Illustrated” on page 410 . This was very helpful for me to better understand how to treat myself by knowing the truth about who I am. I learned how to allay the fear by knowing I was the spiritual reflection of God. That same hour, I prayed in seclusion and listened carefully to God’s direction on what to do. I had the “clear sense and calm trust” that, as Mrs. Eddy wrote, “the recognition of life harmonious—as Life eternally is—can destroy any painful sense of, or belief in, that which Life is not” (p. 495 ). That same hour I was healed, and that same day I competed in the pole vaulting track and field event.
I’m grateful for many subsequent healings, too, including that of a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula while pole vaulting in college; a broken rib from a waterskiing accident; sprained ankles; heel spurs and a torn meniscus from running marathons over a decade; a dislocated shoulder from a soccer injury; a torn rotator cuff from tennis; a hurt shoulder from a fall on the ice when ice skating; and the list goes on. All of these healings were quick and complete, and all took vigilance.
One lesson I learned from these experiences is the importance of remaining “in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25 ) and not focusing on materially based thinking. Even when confronted with a picture of accident or injury, one must be able to understand that it never happened, in the sense that nothing can mitigate one’s status as the reflection of a perfect God. For me, gratitude was the catalyst in all healings, as was a recognition of the importance of arresting and destroying fear. Handling animal magnetism, or the tendency to believe in a power or powers apart from God, is also a “must-do.” Mrs. Eddy tells how to accomplish this in Science and Health: “In proportion to our understanding of Christian Science, we are freed from the belief of heredity, of mind in matter or animal magnetism; and we disarm sin of its imaginary power in proportion to our spiritual understanding of the status of immortal being” (p. 178 ). The ability to see mortal mind as having no power over the divine Mind was demonstrated by Christ Jesus, and sometimes all we need to do is echo the spirit of his denunciation: “Get thee behind me, Satan” (Luke 4:8 ).
I thank Mary Baker Eddy for giving us a clear view of the divine Principle that heals. In all cases of sports-related injuries, I found that I was able to turn away from the material picture and know that God is the only action.
A very important concept in all these healings was something Mrs. Eddy wrote: “Accidents are unknown to God, or immortal Mind, and we must leave the mortal basis of belief and unite with the one Mind, in order to change the notion of chance to the proper sense of God’s unerring direction and thus bring out harmony” (Science and Health, p. 424 ). God is infinite divine Love, governing His universe in perfect harmony, and man is part of that creation. In this perfect spiritual creation, man—including each one of us—is harmonious and eternal. There is simply no other creation, no realm in which accidents could occur.
Mrs. Eddy writes elsewhere in Science and Health, “The Christlike understanding of scientific being and divine healing includes a perfect Principle and idea,—perfect God and perfect man,—as the basis of thought and demonstration” (p. 259 ). This simple assurance is a great place to start our prayers, no matter what situation we’re facing.
Christopher Bordeaux
Wirtz, Virginia, US
