I had an unsightly skin disorder on my neck and the side of my face. It caused me much discomfort and many sleepless nights. Each day I prayed as I have learned to in Christian Science, and at times asked a Christian Science practitioner for treatment. The condition would improve for a while but did not clear up. Several well-meaning friends and acquaintances suggested that I have medical help, but I was never tempted to do this because it was contrary to all my convictions that God is the true healer, and I wanted to rely on God as I had always done.

In the summer of 1972, I spent many hours in prayer and study of the Bible and Mrs. Eddy's writings because of a relationship problem. I was not aware of having done or said anything to cause this situation, but it seemed there was a barrier and no way to communicate. It became so disturbing to me that one day I became quite ill with what appeared to be an extreme case of shingles covering my entire body. Upon doing prayerful work day and night, I realized I need not react to evil in any form but did need to maintain a more spiritualized view of myself and others.

In the Bible it is written (Rom. 12:9, 10): "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another." Also helpful was this line from a hymn in the Christian Science Hymnal (No. 179): "Love one another,—word of revelation." These references were a great comfort to me.

I realized that as God's perfect child I could not accuse or be accused of unkindness or any unloving act. Words from Mrs. Eddy's Message to The Mother Church for 1901 came to my thought many times (pp. 12-13): "Evil is neither quality nor quantity: it is not intelligence, a person or a principle, a man or a woman, a place or a thing, and God never made it."

Within three weeks I was healed. The skin disorder, which had been with me for years, was completely gone; not a scar or trace of it remained. I am grateful for the love and understanding my husband showed me at this time. The relationship problem was healed in my own thought, and ways opened for me to use my growing understanding of Science to make progress. I am humbly grateful for Christ Jesus' example, and for this healing and many other proofs of God's loving care.

(Mrs.) Marion G. Lady
Mountain View, California

It is with gratitude that I can verify my wife's testimony.

While I am not yet a church member, I have witnessed some outstanding healings and I give gratitude for the blessings Christian Science has brought to our home.

Dorman K. Lady

One day while driving around the city, I discovered I couldn't read the street signs without getting quite close to them. At the time, I was planning to take an automobile trip of considerable distance. I already wore glasses, and my driver's license required that I wear them when driving, so I decided to really get down to business and pray about the situation.

I used as a basis for my prayerful work this sentence from Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy (p. 368): "Deny the existence of matter, and you can destroy the belief in material conditions." Another helpful statement is found in Miscellaneous Writings by Mrs. Eddy (p. 206): "The real Christian Scientist is constantly accentuating harmony in word and deed, mentally and orally, perpetually repeating this diapason of heaven: 'Good is my God, and my God is good. Love is my God, and my God is Love.'" I pondered the Bible verse (Gen. 1:31): "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good."

I resolved to see only good, for in reality all is good, and to realize the nothingness of evil. I mentally rejected and reversed all suggestions of error, thereby denying them place or power. As God is good and All, how can there be anything but good? I endeavored to see good everywhere, to look for good in people, places, and things.

The time came when I had to have my driver's license renewed. As my sight had greatly improved, I asked the officer in charge if I could take the examination without my glasses. He consented, and I read the chart from top to bottom unaided. When I came to the next-to-the-bottom line, he stopped me and said, "Go no further. You will not need to wear your glasses while driving. I will remove this restriction from your license." For about thirty-five years I had worn glasses, and now I no longer needed them. I felt wonderfully free and ready at last for that trip I had planned. I drove thirty-nine hundred miles and had no difficulty reading signs at distances. I have not worn glasses since, even for reading. As a result of seeing only good, I have good sight.

My heart is filled with joy for the unspeakable gift of understanding spiritually God's presence and man's unity with Him, as Christ Jesus proved.

Lloyd M. Holmes
Sarasota, Florida

One Tuesday morning while I was at diving practice, my neck became very stiff, to the point where it was almost impossible to move my head. I came home and immediately started to pray as I had learned in the Christian Science Sunday School.

I had to lie in bed, and any movement of my head was very painful. I could not hold my head erect. Mother came in to talk things over. We both knew that all summer I had been practicing and competing in weekly diving meets so that I could qualify for the final meet called the All-Star Meet. It was just five days away. Would I still be able to participate?

This question bothered me continually. I wanted to be healed and I wanted God to heal me. Mother and I discussed the Bible account of Abraham and how he had to be willing to trust to God the thing he loved most on earth (see Gen., Chap. 22). I saw that I had to be willing, really willing, to give up my personal desire concerning the final, championship meet. It took a while for me to completely surrender my hopes and plans and trust God to do the planning for me.

As Mother was leaving the room, she suggested I read pages 390 to 400 in Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. One sentence caught my attention. It is on page 397: "When an accident happens, you think or exclaim, 'I am hurt!'" I read further and found: "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."

By Wednesday I was out of bed and could move my head, although the pain had not completely left. I gradually got better, but it wasn't until the morning of the All-Star Meet that I felt total freedom. Even though I had missed the last week of diving practice because of my neck, I still won a trophy at the meet.

I am so glad I was able to heal myself by relying on God and using the truths of Christian Science.

(Miss) Jody Erb
Alexandria, Virginia

I am Jody's mother and can testify to the accuracy of her testimony.

(Mrs.) Barbara Erb

When I was a child, I always loved music and my mother used to play the piano for me when I was in bed, before I went to sleep. She would call upstairs to me, "Do you hear me?" And I would answer, "Yes, Mother, I am listening." This was a lovely part of my childhood.

When I was seventeen, during the war, I heard all the frightening news on the radio and told my mother how worried I was. She reminded me of my earlier experience, when I would reply, "Yes, Mother, I am listening," and recommended I listen to God's voice as Mrs. Eddy says in her poem (Christian Science Hymnal, No. 304):

Also to say, "God, I am listening." I became a good listener to Truth and learned to have peace of mind even during the war conditions, as I watched my thinking and aligned it with spiritual facts as presented in the textbooks, the Bible, and Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. I learned to listen to God and feel His presence.

Having learned the wisdom of listening, I was healed of a hearing problem. I had become fearful and had listened for the clock and dial tone on the telephone. But when they sounded blurred, the problem became real to me. Then I realized I should listen to God, not matter. I read Science and Health and the hymns, and I heard celestial music in my consciousness. What Mrs. Eddy has said in No and Yes was proved for me (p. 26): "God holds man in the eternal bonds of Science,—in the immutable harmony of divine law. Man is a celestial; and in the spiritual universe he is forever individual and forever harmonious." I was healed. This healing came about twenty years ago.

The habit of listening for spiritual ideas has made it possible for me to help others.

(Mrs.) Lucile Blackshaw
Valois, Quebec, Canada