Destination healing
I was headed to Europe! Along with a group of my fellow teenage tennis players, I would be spending three weeks participating in tennis tournaments in several different countries.
One of the ideas I’ve learned from attending a Christian Science Sunday School is that God is our Father-Mother. And since God is infinite, filling all space, and ever present, that means that my divine Father-Mother is with me wherever I go. To prepare for the trip, I prayed to know I would be protected everywhere I traveled, since I can never be outside the care of an infinite God. I also prayed to understand that even though my parents wouldn’t be with me, I was never without help and guidance, since my Father-Mother God is always present.
The trip was a lot of fun—both the sightseeing and the tournaments. There were many small opportunities to pray, and I frequently thought about my connection with God. But the most memorable healing occurred about halfway through the trip.
Our group ate at many different restaurants as we traveled, and, one night at dinner, a few people joked about the possibility of getting food poisoning from the “interesting” meal. Although I brushed the joking aside, I couldn’t quite shake the fear that I could be adversely affected by the meal. The next day, in the middle of a tennis match, I began to experience the symptoms of food poisoning. Even though I was uncomfortable, I tried to push through. But when that didn’t work, I started to pray. The Golden Text from the Bible Lesson that week was: “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17).
I could experience healing even when I didn’t have my parents around.
It was extremely comforting to know that I was not governed by “meat” and “drink” but by “righteousness, and peace, and joy.” It helped me understand that food could not harm me in any way, because Spirit is supreme and good and doesn’t share its power with anything. The kingdom of God, where I live as God’s daughter, is composed of peace. Nothing could disrupt that peace or my God-given joy. I was able to return to the hotel, rest peacefully, and join the group for dinner later that night. The next day, I was back on the tennis courts, and I had no problems for the rest of the trip.
This experience was valuable, because it proved to me that I could experience healing even when I didn’t have my parents around, or I couldn’t reach a Christian Science practitioner to ask for prayerful support. I learned that I have a “direct line” to God, because my relationship to my Father-Mother is unbreakable. And I’m able to pray and experience healing on my own, wherever I am.
