Testimony of Healing January 14, 2019 Issue

Swift recovery after dog bite

Gillian Smith

One afternoon at our church’s Christian Science Reading Room, I walked out to our display showcase. I greeted a woman approaching the showcase with her dog on a lead, and put my hand toward the beautiful black dog for him to sniff, so that we could make friends.

To my surprise, the dog snarled and took my hand in his jaws, which closed strongly around my thumb joint. The pain was intense. When he released my hand, I stuffed it into my pocket without a glance. I knew immediately I had to forgive this beautiful animal for mistaking my action. I set about it right away, silently telling him that I forgave him unconditionally. I calmed my thought with the understanding gained from my study of Christian Science that this dog was a spiritual idea and therefore entirely good; he could not and did not possess an aggressive nature that could impact another spiritual idea—me.

This understanding is based on the biblical message that Mary Baker Eddy elucidates in her primary work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “Understanding the control which Love held over all, Daniel felt safe in the lions’ den, and Paul proved the viper to be harmless” (p. 514). Here, the word Love is synonymous with the word God, signifying God’s complete control over His spiritual creation.