When I returned home from church one Sunday several years ago, my dog, Major, didn’t want to get up and go outside—strange behavior for him. At first, I thought he might be enjoying some extra rest, but by the end of the day he seemed unable to move from his bed. 

Major had experienced many healings in Christian Science—complete recoveries after being hit by a car, chewing on batteries, and eating a lightbulb, to name just a few—so it was natural for me to turn to Christian Science for the solution in this instance as well.

I called a Christian Science practitioner to pray with me, and we quickly set to work understanding Major’s indestructible and uninterrupted identity as an expression of divine Life, God. One helpful idea was from the Gospel of John, where Jesus heals a lame man at the pool of Bethesda. I was particularly moved by the Master’s question to the man, “Wilt thou be made whole?” (5:6). In a way, it seemed to me that Major might have actually had the ability to move, but simply didn’t want to. So, Jesus’ question made me think about willingness. I knew it was completely natural for Major to want to move normally, so I answered Jesus’ question in the affirmative as it applied to Major.