Leg and knee healed

The Monday before Christmas about two years ago, my daughter and I planned to go shopping. I was rushing down the stairs, when the heel of my shoe caught on the edge of one of the top stairs, and I tumbled head over heels down the entire 16 steps. When I finally hit bottom, my right leg and knee hurt terribly. 

I started to panic, fearing a broken bone or damaged knee. My daughter ran to me and talked in a calm voice, telling me I was OK over and over. My husband rushed in from the garage and started affirming God’s presence and power immediately. He carried me upstairs and helped me into bed. 

The thoughts that first came to mind were all about injury and pain. I consciously refuted each one with any spiritual truth that I knew—and some were very simple. One in particular my daughter had brought home from Sunday School years ago: “God, good, governs, guards, and guides.” I finally was able to fall asleep, and I slept off and on through the night and the next day.

The pain persisted, and I was disappointed that I wasn’t back to normal immediately. I knew it was my responsibility to move forward in my growth in Christian Science and work through this challenge.

Over the last few years, with economic setbacks, my husband and I have relied strongly on Christian Science. Daily prayerful work, constant thankfulness for blessings already received, and appreciation for one another turned our challenging situation into one of growth in grace and in knowledge that our needs would be met. And one by one, they have been. Now it was time to use what I knew to be true to address this injury.

As I read the weekly Bible Lesson in the Christian Science Quarterly, one citation stood out: “If the disciple is advancing spiritually, he is striving to enter in. He constantly turns away from material sense, and looks towards the imperishable things of Spirit. If honest, he will be in earnest from the start, and gain a little each day in the right direction, till at last he finishes his course with joy” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 21). 

The idea of starting and finishing a course with joy lifted my thoughts. Joy could not be damaged or painful, and I could claim this spiritual quality as part of my God-given being. Each day the pain would lessen, and I was able to increase my mobility slowly but surely. After a week had passed, it was time to resume my daily walks with my husband, which I had missed so much while being immobile. We didn’t go far, but with each step, I repeated the words of one of my favorite hymns. The first verse says:

I was able to enjoy the Christmas holidays and even cooked dinner for our annual family gathering. By the end of Christmas vacation, I was ready to go back to work, with full mobility and no visible sign of injury. This experience showed me the proof of this statement in Science and Health: “The physical healing of Christian Science results now, as in Jesus’ time, from the operation of divine Principle, before which sin and disease lose their reality in human consciousness and disappear as naturally and as necessarily as darkness gives place to light and sin to reformation” (p. xi).

I am very grateful for Christian Science, which dispels fear with each angel thought—each spiritual idea that comes to thought—and I’m also grateful that my daughter was unfazed by what appeared to be a disturbing situation. I am grateful for the love and support (physical and metaphysical) of my husband, who kept me focused on what is real and true, and of my mother, who has always provided a spiritual steadfastness that strengthens everyone in our family.

Aimee Smolik 
Fullerton, California, US