Abdominal growth healed
About ten years ago I started to develop a bulge in my lower abdomen. Sometimes it hurt, but usually it was painless. I prayed on and off about it, but over the next couple of years it grew in size and hurt more frequently and intensely. The growth didn’t seem to be associated with physical exertion of any kind, though I didn’t have it medically diagnosed.
One day about two years after I first noticed this bulge, I left for work feeling some pretty severe pain. It was a little tricky to walk, and by midday I was having a hard time just sitting in my chair. I called a Christian Science practitioner to pray for me, and told him I was going to leave work and go home.
Getting home meant riding the subway for half an hour, then walking several blocks to my apartment building. It was tough going, so with each step I repeated this passage from the book of Revelation: “The Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (19:6 ). When I finally got there, I found I had a hard time getting into bed, and I called the practitioner again. I had relied on Christian Science for more than 20 years and had had many healings; I knew I could put my trust in God’s care now as well. I remember feeling determined to hold to God’s view of the situation; I took heart from the Psalmist’s declaration: “He [God] only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God” (Psalms 62:6, 7 ).
Trying to get more comfortable, I moved to the living room couch, but once I was there, I found I couldn’t move my legs anymore. I was holding on to the truth that “the divine Mind that made man maintains His own image and likeness” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 151 ). I kept praying, insisting that my being was absolutely spiritual and not material.
After a short time, I recall thinking that I should arrange for help from a Christian Science nurse since, if the problem persisted, I was going to need some physical assistance. I had my cellphone, but no copy of The Christian Science Journal to find Christian Science nurses in my area (this was before smartphones and the online Journal directory). So I called one or two whom I knew well, but they weren’t around to pick up my call. I called one more Christian Science nurse, someone who—although I knew she didn’t live in the area—would know whom to call. Although this Christian Science nurse lived hours away, she offered to come and help. There was just so much compassion and love in her voice that I was put at ease. I thanked her for her offer, but assured her that all I needed was the number to the local Christian Science nursing facility, which she gave me.
Within minutes of that phone call, I was filled with a sense that divine Love, another name for God, was truly taking care of me. The feeling of being cared for washed over me. I relaxed and, just before I fell asleep, heard some sounds and felt some movement coming from the painful area. I woke up about 45 minutes later absolutely pain-free. The bulge, which had grown to the size of a grapefruit by then, was totally gone. I hopped off the sofa, called the practitioner to rejoice in the healing, and made myself dinner. That was the end of the problem.
Every once in a while over the next six months, I would feel a twinge of pain in the area. When that happened, I simply and firmly declared that I was through with that belief, that I had been healed, and that the problem could not return—and the pain would subside. This healing took place about eight years ago and has been permanent.
What I most learned from this experience is the healing power of divine Love. The expression of human love is a reflection of divine Love, of God’s tender mercies. I’m so grateful for this healing, for the prayerful work of the practitioner, and for the loving care of Christian Science nurses.
John Kohler
Brattleboro, Vermont, US
