I awoke alarmed very early one Tuesday morning with a burning sensation in my left eye. I got out of bed to get a drink of water and noticed my vision was distorted and blurred. 

I knew from my study of Christian Science not to “stand aghast at nothingness” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 563), and I knew the distorted vision was truly nothingness, as it didn’t come from God. According to Christian Science, the belief in the material senses, including the material sense of sight, is nothingness, because it is the opposite of the true spiritual sense of sight—of man and woman “seeing,” or perceiving, as the reflection of divine Mind, or God. To “stand aghast at nothingness” would have been to become afraid on the basis of believing in two separate creations—one material and the other spiritual—and accepting the material as truer or more real than the spiritual. I knew that true sight is a faculty of divine Mind, and in reality there can never be a separation between me and divine Mind, God, nor a disturbance to me as the reflection of Mind.  

I did, however, become concerned about the possibility of being unable to read as First Reader at the next day’s Wednesday evening testimony meeting at my branch Church of Christ, Scientist. I felt the need for prayerful help. I woke up my wife, who is a Christian Science practitioner, and explained the concern and asked her for prayerful help.  

She immediately declared my present state as the perfect spiritual reflection of the all-seeing God, Spirit. She told me about all the goodness that comes with being God’s perfect reflection. 

The Wednesday night readings of citations from the Bible and Science and Health that I had prepared were about trusting God. One of the citations from the Bible was, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalms 46:1). I knew from my study of these Wednesday readings that God and man are inseparable, and no interruption to their perfect relationship is possible.  

My wife asked me to listen to the latest Daily Lift podcast produced by The First Church of Christ, Scientist. The speaker told of an experience when he could not see out of one eye, and of how the fear was destroyed through knowing the spiritual truth of his being. This idea so perfectly spoke to my experience!   

The Wednesday readings ended with a strong passage about healing, or correcting one’s thought, from Science and Health: “When the illusion of sickness or sin tempts you, cling steadfastly to God and His idea. Allow nothing but His likeness to abide in your thought. Let neither fear nor doubt overshadow your clear sense and calm trust, that the recognition of life harmonious—as Life eternally is—can destroy any painful sense of, or belief in, that which Life is not. Let Christian Science, instead of corporeal sense, support your understanding of being, and this understanding will supplant error with Truth, replace mortality with immortality, and silence discord with harmony” (p. 495).  

The illusion of distorted sight had tempted me, but I held fast to God and His reflection. I did not fear any erroneous thought, but trusted in the fact that I am in harmony with God as His perfect reflection. There is no truth in pain or any belief in error of any sort. The false belief of damaged sight was replaced with the understanding of my permanent existence as the reflection of God. In God’s harmonious creation, there can be no distortion. My thought was corrected spiritually, and perfect sight was restored as a result. 

I read my readings at the Wednesday evening testimony meeting with gratitude. The difficulty has not returned, and this healing has been complete for over a year. “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (II Corinthians 9:15).

Raymond Glazner 
Indianapolis, Indiana, US