This testimony is long overdue, and it is with a great deal of gratitude that I share it now. 

After my first daughter was born, I began having disturbing physical symptoms, one being that my menstrual cycle didn’t resume. There were some other unsettling symptoms, and I occasionally worked with a Christian Science practitioner, who gave me treatment through prayer. This continued for about two years, and then my husband at the time, who wasn’t a Christian Scientist, insisted I see a doctor.

I went to a general MD, who was concerned and ran some tests. The results prompted a consultation with a neurosurgeon and more tests—along with a diagnosis of a tumor in the brain. I was very afraid because I was told that the tumor was inoperable and therefore terminal. I was in my early twenties, and my daughter was two years old. The prospect of my not being around to raise her was unthinkable.

I had been raised in Christian Science and had had healings by relying solely on God. Although I hadn’t practiced Christian Science in a long time, I still had complete confidence that I could be healed through prayer. After the first weekend of X-rays, I had a week before the next tests, so I called another practitioner and requested Christian Science treatment. She said she would pray for me, assuring me that God was my Life; that God, infinite Mind, included only good; and that I could not be left out of this divine good. She also helped me see that nothing could interfere with God’s completely good purpose for me.

I remember being much less fearful when I returned to the hospital that second weekend, and during this time no drugs were administered. After further tests, three neurosurgeons came into the examination room, X-rays in hand. They told me that the X-rays they had taken the previous week, which had confirmed their diagnosis, didn’t match the ones they now held. They said, “There is absolutely no evidence of a tumor.” Overjoyed, I went home.

For several months after this, however, the symptoms continued, in spite of confirmation by the doctors that there was no physical reason for them. The practitioner and I continued to pray together, and it was a time of great spiritual growth for me, especially in learning to put all my trust in God.

For some time I had been feeling trapped in an unhappy marriage. We had married very young, and it soon became evident that my husband wasn’t ready for full commitment to our daughter and me. One day, as I was discussing this with the practitioner, I said through my tears, “The Bible says, ‘What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder’ (Mark 10:9), so I can’t leave him.” I’ll never forget her response. She said that God hadn’t joined me together with a human husband but with divine Love. I knew that she wasn’t advising me to leave my husband—that was my own decision to make—but at that moment it was crystal clear to me that that was the right step to take. 

I packed our belongings that very day, and my daughter and I moved in with my parents. That was on a Friday. The next day my menstrual cycle resumed, and it was normal until it ended naturally a couple of decades later. The other symptoms vanished as well. My daughter and I stayed with my parents until I found a job and a permanent home.

This healing happened over fifty years ago. I want to add that my daughter’s dad worked hard to establish a loving and lasting relationship with her. He and I have been on good terms for many years. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy says: “Christianity is the basis of true healing. Whatever holds human thought in line with unselfed love, receives directly the divine power” (p. 192).

My gratitude to God is profoundly deep and sincere for the countless blessings that have come from this healing and my study of Christian Science.

Victoria Cole
Eugene, Oregon, US