Mobility pain gone

After returning home from attending a family event in another state, I began to experience waves of pain in my right leg and foot while standing or walking. Confident that the condition would pass on its own, I continued my normal activities of masters swimming workouts, cycling, and walking the dog several miles a day.

However, the pain and strange feeling in my leg and foot continued. From my study and practice of Christian Science, I knew that I could realize Christ Jesus’ promise “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). I also knew that God is the only Life and that my identity and individuality are an expression of the divine One. This pain was an affront to the truth of my uninterrupted God-given mobility, a false belief imposed on my consciousness, and an extension of the belief that I live in a mortal body that is subject to decline. To reverse this damning belief, I gave myself Christian Science prayerful treatment. 

One of the most aggressive beliefs that had to be reversed was that my body was wearing out after all my years of being active in athletics of all sorts and that I might have to live with this condition permanently.

I spent time each morning in silent prayer, reaching out to God and affirming my true identity as spiritual, the loved child of God, Spirit. I prayerfully worked during the day to be alert to refute the suggestions that I was material and at the mercy of pain and disability.

Two ideas about my identity were foundational for me. The first was that I could “walk in my integrity” (Psalms 26:11, New King James Version). One definition of integrity I find helpful is wholeness. This wholeness is God-given, not my own to fix or tinker with. The second idea was from Mary Baker Eddy’s answer to the question “What is man?” in her textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. The statement “He is the compound idea of God . . .” (p. 475) stood out. I was not my own idea; my identity was conceived, brought forth, sustained, and nurtured by God, not by me. 

I continued praying this way for two months. There were several times when the condition seemed to be easing, only to come back. But I stood fast in prayer and in understanding my true, spiritual identity and relation to God, good. Finally, I knew without question that this condition had no power over me. When I knew this wholeheartedly, the condition dissolved. I have been free ever since.

Roger Whiteway
Virginia Beach, Virginia, US