Injured back restored

Several years ago I led four young adults, who were visiting me, on a beautiful hike that ended at a fun waterfall. Sometimes people use a guide for this trip, and the guide provides entertainment by jumping off the 40-foot waterfall for all to see. As I had been on this trip many times, we didn’t use a guide, but there was a guide at the end of our journey with a tour group. He was doing his thing at the 40-foot jump while we were swimming in a smaller pool below with a little 15-foot jump. 

While I was swimming, a sudden, huge impact hit my back and left me speechless and almost paralyzed. I yelled in pain, but no sound came out. I could barely breathe. I managed to drag myself to the edge of the pool. The guide had decided to do a little dive show into the small pool and had not looked before leaping.

The four young adults, who were all Christian Scientists, began praying, and I could feel their support. Two of them came to my side to help me out of the water and support me through the trek out of the rainforest. I could not move my right arm, and the footsteps were painful, but we sang Hymn 350 by Mary Peters from the Christian Science Hymnal as we made our way, and I particularly focused on the words “All, all is well.” We also sang Hymn 139 by Minny M. H. Ayers, “I walk with Love along the way.” Despite the pain, I leaned on God’s support as I walked up the many steps we needed to take.

When we reached our van, it was obvious I would not be able to drive. I called a Christian Science practitioner for metaphysical treatment for my injuries. One of the young men in our party drove us home, and we also took the guide, who wanted to go to the hospital for his neck injuries. We dropped him off near the hospital and headed for home. I prayed to understand that there was in reality no separation from God and no injuries to myself or the guide.

When we arrived home, my husband helped me get settled. He said he thought I might have cracked ribs. I mentioned this to the practitioner, who sent me to page 397 in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. The passage reads: “When an accident happens, you think or exclaim, ‘I am hurt!’ Your thought is more powerful than your words, more powerful than the accident itself, to make the injury real. 

“Now reverse the process. Declare that you are not hurt and understand the reason why, and you will find the ensuing good effects to be in exact proportion to your disbelief in physics, and your fidelity to divine metaphysics, confidence in God as All, which the Scriptures declare Him to be.”

I knew I needed to refute the belief that I could have cracked ribs and to declare the truth for myself. I strove to recognize my spiritual perfection and to recognize all the evidences of God’s goodness in my life.

Excellent progress was made over the next few days. Although it was hard to sleep or get comfortable at night, I continued to acknowledge God’s ever-present goodness and my spiritual perfection. Often, when it was painful to move, I would declare Mrs. Eddy’s words “Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good” (Science and Health, p. 393), and endeavor to obey them. Within a week I was up and about, with pain only when I raised my right arm. I was grateful for all the support of the practitioner and released her from the case, while I continued praying about the arm issue.

Several months later, while taking a group of elementary school children on the same hike, I realized on the journey that my healing was complete. I wasn’t even sure when the arm had stopped hurting; it was just a natural progression of all the good that had unfolded from the healing prayer. I spent a fair amount of time on that hike giving gratitude for the young adults who had supported me, for the practitioner and her insightful sharing of truths and her metaphysical treatment, for my husband and his tender care, and for Christian Science, which gives us the understanding that there are no accidents, only divine Love constantly providing us with health and wholeness.  

Deb Eastwood 
St. George’s, Grenada