Testimony of Healing August 19, 2013 Issue

Pet healings strengthen faith

Carla Stillman

I have always loved animals—the beauty, joy, and love they so naturally express. I’ve been grateful to learn through Christian Science that these wonderful qualities have their source in God—that animals as well as people are spiritual and exist to express God’s nature. Knowing this has been a blessing in caring for our family pets. We’re seeing glimpses that “all of God’s creatures, moving in the harmony of Science, are harmless, useful, indestructible” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 514).

One of our dogs had two healings that taught me a lot about applying Christian Science. Our neighbors told me that their young dog had been put to sleep because it developed hip dysplasia. I knew that this condition frequently affected the breed of dog we had. After being away on a trip, I returned to find that our dog was in pain and would not walk. When I looked into her eyes, I saw fear. It was almost as if she were saying she was afraid we would not keep her because she could not walk. I had compassion for her, and I was sure that the suffering was a mental imposition that would melt away in the presence of divine Love. Divine Love can do what a personal sense of love and the material senses can’t—perceive the unchanged spiritual wholeness of each individual person or pet.

Each day I gently carried our dog outside, stood her up, and spoke to her about her perfection as God’s creature. I told her that because divine Spirit is the source of all movement, she could walk, and I encouraged her to try. I endeavored to understand more fully that because she was spiritual, her ability to express unhindered love and joy had not been lost. After some days, she began tentatively to take a few steps. At the end of several weeks, she completely regained her ability to walk and run, and she continued for many years being an active member of the family.

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