Son's finger healed
One day when my son, Andy, was four or five years old, he went out the front door of our house to get the mail. Since it was cold out and he had been asked not to leave the front door wide open, he slammed it shut, not noticing that his finger was in the locking mechanism. He badly injured his finger pulling it out of the door, and I heard him holler from the other side of the door.
I ran downstairs, held Andy close, and reassured him that everything was all right because God, Love, was with us. I asked his sister to get some paper towels for Andy’s finger. I was praying, expectantly reaching out to God for an answer, and one thought that immediately came to mind was a quote from First Corinthians 14:33 , which reads in part, “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.”
Once Andy had settled down, I washed his hand and arm and saw that the nail of the longest finger was badly damaged. We covered it with a bandage, and soon Andy was calm enough for me to phone a Christian Science practitioner for treatment. She agreed to give Christian Science treatment to Andy and me, and assured me of God’s love for both of us.
As the healing progressed over the next several days, I thought about an experience I’d had many years before when one of my big toenails was cracked while sparring in a martial arts class. After a couple of weeks of prayer, I noticed the nail as I was about to step into the shower. A thought came to me from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy: “The less mind there is manifested in matter the better. When the unthinking lobster loses its claw, the claw grows again. If the Science of Life were understood, it would be found that the senses of Mind are never lost and that matter has no sensation. Then the human limb would be replaced as readily as the lobster’s claw,—not with an artificial limb, but with the genuine one” (p. 489 ). After the shower, I stepped out and saw that a brand new nail was in place. Remembering this experience reassured me that Andy’s nail could be healed as well.
Over the next few weeks the practitioner prayed with us daily, sometimes talking with Andy over the phone. Together we affirmed Andy’s perfection, knowing that he was spiritual and “every whit whole” (John 7:23 ). We also changed the bandage daily and kept the finger clean.
One morning, we found that the old fingernail had fallen off and a brand new nail was in place on Andy’s finger. Today, about five years later, you can’t tell which finger had gotten caught. Andy has been playing baseball for the past five years, and is the star first baseman and best batter on his team. He’s been playing basketball for three years, too, and recently scored 11 baskets in his team’s victory. His hand works just the way it should.
Russell Whittaker
New Bern, North Carolina, US
I was young when this healing happened, but I knew I could listen to God for calm thoughts. My dad prayed with me and also called a Christian Science practitioner. When my mom came home, she came in my dad’s office and saw me sitting in his big green chair. I had calmed down, but my finger was still trying to get my attention. I was tempted to believe that it was badly hurt and would never be healed. I knew that such ideas didn’t come from God, since I reflect Him. None of God’s children could be hurt, including me.
The practitioner reminded us that “Accidents are unknown to God, or immortal Mind …” (Science and Health, p. 424 ). The next day when I went to preschool, I noticed that once I started with my day, my finger felt fine. If I didn’t take in the material picture, I could go on with my day as usual. Within a few weeks, my nail had fallen off, and a new nail grew. I also had something else growing in me: my trust in God!
Andy Whittaker
