Rediscovering short but oh-so-sweet testimonies

Dear Reader,

Wow and wow! That’s how I felt when first reading “Fruitage,” the last chapter of Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. I still feel that way! Here’s an example:

I had been deaf from childhood. I suffered intensely after eating, and dropsy was another of my complaints. This, with consumption, caused one doctor to say, “It puzzles me; I have never seen such a case before as yours.” 

I met a friend who had been cured in Christian Science, and she said, “Try Christian Science.” I got a copy of Science and Health and in three weeks I was entirely cured. I felt uplifted. It seemed as if God’s arms were around and about me. I felt as if heaven had come down to earth for me. After five years of suffering can any one wonder at my unspeakable gratitude? (pp. 652–653).

What do we get in 111 words? The problem; the power of Christian Science to heal it; the thought shift that comes with such healing; the ensuing life transformation; a sense of how palpable God’s love is; and gratitude that declares “try me, and see” to today’s “honest seekers for Truth” (Science and Health, p. xii).

There are many longer “Wow!”-inducing testimonies in “Fruitage.” They also tend to focus less on metaphysical detail and more on the context in which the testifier turned to Christian Science and the spiritual transformation and healing impact that followed.

Over the past 137 years, healing accounts in our periodicals have always inspired and brought healing to readers, yet each era has had its own style of presenting them. Starting with next year’s Sentinel, you’ll see a more diverse palette of testimonies in what could be called a new-old style, from snapshots of healing such as the one above, to longer “Fruitage”-style testimonies, to those including more metaphysical reasoning. We welcome more submissions of shorter healing accounts, with less detail of your metaphysical thinking and a simpler focus on what transpired.

So, please keep writing and sending in your testimonies, as you pause and pray and listen for the best way to share how the healing power of divine Truth has evidenced itself in your life.

Tony Lobl, Associate Editor