No aftereffects from a fall
My wife and I were helping a friend move. While I was carrying one end of a heavy wooden chest full of linens and walking backward, my legs made contact with a trailer hitch attached to the truck we were loading, and I began to fall. I shoved the chest onto the truck’s tailgate to avoid letting it fall on top of me, but this propelled me backward, and my legs flew out from under me.
Days before, during time taken for spiritual study, I had pondered the question “What does it mean to be spiritual?” Numerous times that week I had returned to this question and the joyous answers I had found. Consistent with the teaching of Christian Science that we are the children of God, Spirit, and therefore are spiritual, not material, I rejected a view of myself as a material body and accepted instead this wholly spiritual nature as the reality of my being.
In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy we find this assertion by God: “I am Spirit. Man, whose senses are spiritual, is my likeness. He reflects the infinite understanding, for I am Infinity. The beauty of holiness, the perfection of being, imperishable glory,—all are Mine, for I am God” (pp. 252–253). This likeness of God includes enduring spiritual constituents, such as structure, strength, grace, intelligence, cognition, vision, movement, love, and beauty.
So, what happened during the moving of the chest and the ensuing fall? And how does the question “What does it mean to be spiritual?” relate to this story? My study and prayer to better understand what it means to be spiritual helped me gain victory when, to the physical senses, there seemed no way to avoid injury and pain. At that moment of imbalance, a feeling of helplessness began to overwhelm me. My upper body was quickly heading downward, and a hard impact seemed unavoidable. But then the angelic thought came very clearly: “I am spiritual!”
The fact that I am—everyone is—spiritual is unchangeable. I am, and always will be, spiritual, and therefore intact, untouched, no matter what seems to be going on. Even as I hit the ground, I continued to hold to the fact of my pure spirituality. Knowing this allowed no fear of injury to enter my thought.
I lay there for a few moments, holding quietly and steadfastly to the truth that had come to me so clearly. After a time, I rolled over and got up, continuing to hold to that profoundly simple yet powerful fact: I am spiritual. I knew also that my helping a friend move was done out of love and that there could be no harmful consequences from an act of love. I rejoiced in the fact that I did not feel any pain. Others who were present were understandably concerned about some bleeding, but as I continued to pray, the bleeding stopped so quickly that I did not need to apply a bandage. We finished the day very productively and with joy, just as we had started. There was no evidence of injury, and I never felt pain that day or any time later.
I am grateful for the joy and blessings I derive from learning of God’s nature, including His infinite goodness, and from demonstrating the biblical healing power explained so clearly in Christian Science.
Ronald A. Gatten
Grants Pass, Oregon, US
