Last Thanksgiving, while I prepared for family arrivals, I was overcome by an attack of severe cramping, nausea, dizziness, and painful urination. When the symptoms didn’t abate, a family member suggested I go to the emergency room.

However, I have relied on prayer to meet all my health needs for many years, so I wanted to turn to God for healing. I called a Christian Science practitioner for metaphysical treatment, and she calmly assured me that she would begin praying for me immediately. Then she added, “God is the center and circumference of your being, isn’t He?” 

My fear evaporated instantly. I felt calm. I began to think about that statement, which was a reference to a passage in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy: “We cannot fathom the nature and quality of God’s creation by diving into the shallows of mortal belief. We must reverse our feeble flutterings—our efforts to find life and truth in matter—and rise above the testimony of the material senses, above the mortal to the immortal idea of God. These clearer, higher views inspire the Godlike man to reach the absolute centre and circumference of his being” (p. 262). 

From my study of Christian Science, I had learned about the spiritual nature of God’s creation. Spirit is a synonym for God, and I started to think of Spirit—not bodily organs—as the true substance of my being. I saw that I was the very embodiment of Spirit’s goodness, which includes perfect health. 

Even though I was still lying uncomfortably in bed, I felt an awakening in my thought. I recognized this as spiritual sense—my and everyone’s ability to see the truth of God’s creation and be at peace. I felt mentally uplifted as I turned thought away from the body and reached outward and upward in prayer to God. 

Soon a couple of lines about God from a favorite hymn came to me: “Your presence surrounds me by day and by night; / While waking or sleeping, I live in Your light” (Fenella Bennetts, Christian Science Hymnal: Hymns 430–603, No. 485). I had been longing for relief in sleep, even though I knew that sleep is not a remedy. In Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, Mrs. Eddy gives this advice to students: “One says, ‘I find relief from pain in unconscious sleep.’ I say, You mistake; through unconsciousness one no more gains freedom from pain than immunity from evil” (p. 298). 

I knew I didn’t need sleep to experience God’s healing presence, and this calming thought supported my rest. An hour later I awoke to find that all symptoms had vanished. I called the practitioner to let her know I was free, and she joined me in rejoicing in God’s goodness. I was able to finish my Thanksgiving preparations that night. In the year since this healing occurred, there has been no return of any of those symptoms.

Rebecca Gau
Mesa, Arizona, US