Last year, my husband and I were on a walk through a horse property, and we encountered a rope gate. My husband jumped over it, but when I followed, my foot caught on the rope. Struggling to regain my balance, I twisted my lower back, and it felt as though something had been pulled out of place. Immediately, I rejected the pain because I knew it wasn’t from God, good. I was able to walk home, but for the next two days I was pretty much immobilized. 

I prayerfully affirmed my inseparability from God’s all-power and constant presence and rejected the concept of accident as a cause or injury as an effect; still, the intense pain continued. I read the following passage about man, meaning everyone, from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy: “His birthright is dominion, not subjection. He is lord of the belief in earth and heaven,—himself subordinate alone to his Maker” (p. 518). 

That’s when it occurred to me to call a Christian Science practitioner for metaphysical treatment. Being a practitioner myself, I questioned why I needed another’s prayerful help. But Science and Health offers guidance on this point: “If students do not readily heal themselves, they should early call an experienced Christian Scientist to aid them” (p. 420).