I am a member of First Church of Christ, Scientist, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and I want to share a healing I experienced just from reading the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. 

Before the pandemic, I was losing a lot of weight. I began to feel weak and was more and more exhausted every day. I didn’t want to worry my daughter or my siblings, so I didn’t say anything and continued to pray, recognizing that I live, move, and have my being in God (see Acts 17:28), and that nothing could separate me from God, who is my life—who is Life itself. I clung to spiritual ideas I’ve learned in Christian Science, recognizing that God is All, so it is impossible for there to be any power opposed to God.

Still, my fear grew because of comments from other people: “What happened?” “You’re so thin; are you on a diet?” These observations made me feel quite afraid. One day at church, a friend shared these words from Jeremiah: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (29:11). At that moment, the verse was a balm. It felt like an expression of the loving care of our Father-Mother God. 

The fear continued even though I prayed constantly—but I knew that God’s plan was salvation, not death. I felt this was an opportunity to glorify the name of the one Almighty God. 

One day, I heard this friend from church mention, with the authority of the Christ, the importance of reading the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures from cover to cover. This got me thinking. I had been studying Christian Science for some time and had even taken Primary class instruction, but I had never before read Science and Health cover to cover. This was just what I needed to hear—and obey—and with a heart full of joy and gratitude to God, that’s what I did. I soon felt a sense of renewal directly from Spirit, God. 

It was not easy to fulfill what I felt was a divine command. There were moments when I wanted to stop reading because I thought it wouldn’t do any good—but Christ, Truth, guided me out of these erroneous suggestions, and I affirmed to myself, “I will not give up.” The story of Nehemiah in the Bible came to mind, when he was rebuilding the wall to protect Jerusalem, and enemies came to distract him from his task. But he did not give in. The outcome of my persistence in reading? By the time I got to the Glossary in Science and Health, I was already totally free of the fear. In other words, I saw that I had never been sick or dying, but that I was and am one with God, infinite good, Life, Truth, Love. The healing was complete in 2021, and the condition has never recurred.

I am infinitely grateful to God and Mary Baker Eddy for leaving this pearl of great value to the world and for this and so many other demonstrations of divine Love. I am grateful for all Christian Science practitioners, who do such constant selfless and loving prayerful work, blessing themselves and others around the world. 

I am so grateful for the opportunity to share these wonderful things that are happening.

Graça de Maria Amorim dos Santos
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil