Eye back to normal

I own a small music school located on a property that has additional buildings. I rent out these buildings and keep fairly busy with small maintenance tasks. One night last year, I went to change some batteries in a doorbell for a tenant. I noticed that the old batteries were corroded, so I carefully put the new ones in place. However, as I snapped the cover on, some of the corrosive residue flew out and struck my eye. The instant burning and pain were alarming.

I immediately reached out to God in prayer, and this line from that week’s Christian Science Bible Lesson, “Soul,” was the first statement of truth that came to me: “Neither age nor accident can interfere with the senses of Soul, and there are no other real senses” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 214 ). The fear that my vision would be impaired ceased. I flushed out my eye while continuing to pray for myself as I was taught through my study of Christian Science and in Christian Science Primary class instruction.

Next, the words “the dreamer and dream are one” came clearly to my thought. I recognized this phrase from Mary Baker Eddy’s statement in Science and Health, which reads, “The history of error is a dream-narrative. The dream has no reality, no intelligence, no mind; therefore the dreamer and dream are one, for neither is true nor real” (p. 530 ). I reasoned that although I appeared to have experienced an accident, this was an erroneous mental suggestion or “dream” of being a mortal. I focused my prayers on staying mentally awake to the truth of being. I affirmed that I was not a mortal dreamer who is susceptible to accidents because my true selfhood is spiritual. As a reflection or idea of divine Mind, I could only be conscious of God’s protective love. No bit of matter can invade or injure a spiritual idea.

After about ten minutes of praying, my vision cleared, but there was discomfort and irritation in my eye. I went to a mirror to see if any residue needed to be removed. My eye, although still red from the irritation, was clear of any debris. There was a purple burn mark on my lower eyelid. I knew I needed to keep up my prayers.

Then I thought of a story from the Bible Lesson that put my thinking on a more spiritual track right away. It was of the three young Hebrew men who were thrown into the fiery furnace and how their loyalty and trust in God so protected them that even the smell of fire was not on them when they stepped out (see Daniel 3:1–27 ). I knew that I too could put my trust in God’s care and expect no marks or scarring from the battery residue.

I continued to pray with these ideas and returned to my normal activities for the day. When I woke up the next morning, there was no more pain in my eye and no marks of any kind. I also noticed that my vision was a little clearer than it had been before this incident occurred.

How grateful I am for the wonderful insights into the nature of God’s great love for us that Mrs. Eddy’s writings provide!

Wendy Hellyer
Bensalem, Pennsylvania, US