I am grateful for an experience that showed me the healing efficacy of Christian Science. At the time, I was particularly focused on this idea that had come to me from the Bible’s book of Matthew: “Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil” (5:37). I saw that I could apply what might be called the “Yea, yea; Nay, nay” approach to a problem, quickly deciding the thoughts I should admit and those I should reject.

I play racket sports and often hear talk of elbow pain and injuries. Recently, I was lifting weights with a friend when I felt a sharp pain in one of my elbows. That evening, the pain grew worse. I decided that anytime I felt pain while moving my arm, I would declare, “Nay, nay.” I would then follow that with a statement that was true about God and His creation and end with, “Yea, yea.” I did that even in the middle of the night when moving my arm was painful. 

Some of the truths that came to me were from a description of man—the true nature of each of us—in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. It begins: “Man is not matter; he is not made up of brain, blood, bones, and other material elements. The Scriptures inform us that man is made in the image and likeness of God. Matter is not that likeness. The likeness of Spirit cannot be so unlike Spirit. Man is spiritual and perfect; and because he is spiritual and perfect, he must be so understood in Christian Science” (p. 475).