Soccer, ski slopes, and a swing dance

Last winter, I had the opportunity to play on an indoor soccer team. I absolutely love soccer and have played for over 12 years. To me, the sport is about giving of yourself and demanding dominion over limitations. 

While playing an indoor game one day, I attempted to kick the ball but ended up landing on my foot the wrong way. I heard a loud cracking noise. The pain was severe, and with only seconds left in the game I limped off the field to sit on the bench. As I fought through the tears, my teammate next to me on the bench supported me and started to quietly sing a hymn from the Christian Science Hymnal that begins, “Shepherd, show me how to go” (Mary Baker Eddy, No. 304). This prayer helped me calm my fear and listen to God.

After the game ended, I found that I couldn’t put any pressure on my right foot. My house mom from my dorm helped me to the school’s Campus House, where the nurses examined my ankle and wrapped it for me. Although it was difficult to get around, that evening I ended up putting off praying about the problem, hoping it would go away with time. But the next morning, my ankle was bruised and swollen, and it took me twice as long as normal to get ready for school. 

Before the second period of the school day, I decided to call a Christian Science practitioner, who immediately began prayerfully working for me, sharing with me the spiritual reality of what was really going on. That afternoon, I received an e-mail from him which simply said “Ps. 27:1.” I opened up my Bible and read, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” It became clear that I didn’t need to be afraid about the physical condition of my foot. I just had to recognize God as my strength. This thought triggered a change in my thinking, and I began to feel more confident that I would be healed. 

However, after a couple of days I began to worry. That Friday I was planning on going skiing. And the following day, on Saturday, there would be a school swing dance, and I’d been looking forward to wearing my new pair of high heels. I was so excited to get to ski and dance, but I worried I wouldn’t be able to because of my foot. It felt like thoughts that clearly weren’t from God were telling me that I couldn’t be joyful anymore, or that I had to suffer because of what had happened during the soccer game.

At that point, I talked with the practitioner again. He gave me several other passages to pray with, including one in Science and Health in which Mrs. Eddy wrote: “Rise in the conscious strength of the spirit of Truth to overthrow the plea of mortal mind, alias matter, arrayed against the supremacy of Spirit. Blot out the images of mortal thought and its beliefs in sickness and sin. Then, when thou art delivered to the judgment of Truth, Christ, the judge will say, ‘Thou art whole!’ ” (pp. 390–391). The practitioner told me to specifically note that “blot out” means to erase, but also to wipe out completely, and to destroy. I could blot out this material picture. What I needed to do was stop focusing on the injured ankle and start claiming my dominion. These ideas really helped me understand my perfection. I thought about feet as representing balance, stability, guidance, movement, foundation, joy, and support.

I also had a helpful conversation with someone at school, who pointed out that since I was embodying Godlike qualities by playing soccer, my love for the sport couldn’t have a negative effect on me. I later wrote down some of the ideas from our conversation on a piece of paper and hung it on my wall. It read: “You are perfect. Intensity, love, joy, work, dedication—that’s God. That’s what you express in these activities! . . . You embody the principles of freedom, joy, truth, intelligence, support, and love. That is all you embody. The illusions of imperfection and accidents have no place.”

Later that day, I felt completely peaceful on a new level, after reading chapter 10 in Revelation, part of which describes an angel planting his feet on the sea and on the earth (see Rev. 10:1, 2). The right foot upon the sea shows dominion over latent error, and the left foot on visible error. I really connected with that idea of “planting my feet”—of gaining dominion over mortal mind, or the negative thoughts opposed to God. The angel’s feet are described as pillars of fire, burning and consuming the error. I took this to mean that error is constantly being destroyed. This idea was extremely helpful, and I took my stand and made the decision to plant my own feet on the rock of Life, Truth, and Love.

That stand brought immediate healing. By Friday night nothing could stop me from getting to the ski slopes! I slipped on my boots, and naturally, my foot didn’t bother me at all while on the hill. I was so grateful when I put those ski boots on! (I’ve been skiing since I was three, and it’s a huge part of my life.) My friends were all really excited about my healing as well. At the dance I was also completely free from any limitation, and I even got to wear my brand-new heels!

This healing showed me that I can rely on God and that I can lean on Him for every need I have. The permanence of God’s work is wonderful, and I was able to play spring soccer without any related foot challenges on the field. I am so grateful for Christian Science and the freedom I felt from this healing.