Many years ago, my husband and I left very financially rewarding medical careers to follow our newfound hearts’ desire, Christian Science. We moved to Boston, where I began working at The Mother Church.

After a few months, things were looking bleak—literally. One very cold and windy day, I was walking to work on an icy sidewalk. The sun had not come up yet, and it was still dark. I was hurting in several ways: One of my arms had been very painful for a couple of days, and I felt out of my comfort zone. I wasn’t a “city girl,” having been raised in a small town, and our housing situation was not to the standard I was used to because of the expenses of living in the city and the mortgage on our house, which had not yet sold.

In my thoughts, I was trying to identify what was causing the painful condition of my arm. How had I injured it? Had I fallen and harmed myself in some way? Suddenly, I caught myself. I realized I was looking for cause in the wrong place. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy writes, “Cause does not exist in matter, in mortal mind, or in physical forms” (p. 262). A bit later, we read, “All substance, intelligence, wisdom, being, immortality, cause, and effect belong to God” (p. 275).

I stopped walking, said, “No!” and declared, “There is no cause in matter.” As Mrs. Eddy says: “Be firm in your understanding that the divine Mind governs, and that in Science man reflects God’s government. Have no fear that matter can ache, swell, and be inflamed as the result of a law of any kind, when it is self-evident that matter can have no pain nor inflammation” (Science and Health, p. 393). At that moment, I was taking a stand for what I was learning in Christian Science about my true identity as God’s reflection. I was no longer going to entertain suggestions that a painful arm could be part of that identity, because I knew I am a spiritual, perfect child of God. 

As I continued my cold, dark walk to work, I realized I was longing for comfort and warmth in my life. Our former home had been lovely, comfortable. We had previously been able to pay the bills, which we were struggling with now. But goodness, Christian Science had healed me of cancer (see Karen Walsh, “Diagnosed cancer healed,” January 8, 2001, Sentinel), something the doctors had been unable to do despite their good and genuine intentions. I realized that I would rather sweep the floors, so to speak, for the Cause of Christian Science than trust in the “uncertain riches” (I Timothy 6:17) of matter.

By this time, I had arrived at the office and had many things to attend to. Several hours had passed when I realized my arm was no longer painful. I had been healed! The pain did not return.

This healing, further proof of the truth of the teachings of Christian Science, helped me stay the course. My circumstances didn’t change immediately, but in a few months, spring arrived. It brought with it more than just sunshine and warmth; our house was sold, which relieved us of those mortgage payments; I moved into a position at work that felt like a better fit for me; and my husband and I found a beautiful new apartment.

Now, thinking back on this experience, I see that it confirms so many of the truths that Mrs. Eddy shares in her writings—for instance, her statement: “If your endeavors are beset by fearful odds, and you receive no present reward, go not back to error, nor become a sluggard in the race. 

“When the smoke of battle clears away, you will discern the good you have done, and receive according to your deserving” (Science and Health, p. 22). 

Resisting the temptation to go back to outgrown, material ways of thinking and taking the forward step in thought toward Spirit, God, was instrumental in this healing. I’ve learned that if we are struggling with an unyielding problem, we have divine authority to persist. Mrs. Eddy writes, “The divine Principle of healing is proved in the personal experience of any sincere seeker of Truth” (Science and Health, p. x). Indeed, it is!

Karen McCoy
Beverly Hills, Florida, US