I came home early from work one day, suffering from influenza. My head hurt intensely. All I wanted at that moment was sleep and rest. As I lay down, I reached for Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy to find a helpful idea that I could ponder before drifting off to sleep. This was the passage I found (p. 428): "Man's privilege at this supreme moment is to prove the words of our Master: 'If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.'" This sentence hit me like a bolt and I sat up exclaiming," 'Man's privilege at this supreme moment...'"! There was obviously much more at stake than I realized. The line was drawn, and the mental battle was on.

The paragraph continues: "To divest thought of false trusts and material evidences in order that the spiritual facts of being may appear,—this is the great attainment by means of which we shall sweep away the false and give place to the true. Thus we may establish in truth the temple, or body, 'whose builder and maker is God.'"

Could I possibly consider this situation a privilege, or be able to think of it as a "supreme moment"? I looked longingly at my pillow and remembered Mrs. Eddy's words (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 118), "Be of good cheer; the warfare with one's self is grand; it gives one plenty of employment, and the divine Principle worketh with you,— and obedience crowns persistent effort with everlasting victory."

I decided to postpone sleeping, and I thanked God for the inspiration and strength to turn away from the mesmerism of sense testimony. Then I prayed for the ability to recognize only the reality of God's creation.

Earnestly I started to deny and reject the lies of illness and mortality. I could feel the healing influence of the Christ in my consciousness as inspired thoughts regarding my true identity and my oneness with God flooded in.

By dinnertime I was happily cooking for my family, and the next morning I went to work feeling exalted by this proof of God's omnipotent love. To me, it was a fulfillment of the biblical promise (Deut. 18:13), "Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God."

During my term as Second Reader in our branch church, I was thrown off my bicycle while on an outing with my husband. My head and shoulder took the impact of the fall.

Immediately I was conscious of this thought (Christian Science Hymnal, No. 135): "It makes no separation/Between my Lord and me." My husband spoke to me during the brief periods that I retained consciousness, and I was able to repeat the statements he made to remind me of God's protecting care. I could not comprehend any other conversation; the only words I was aware of were prayerful affirmations of Truth. The thought that I could not be separated from God never left me throughout the trying days that followed.

An ambulance had been called, and the paramedics on the scene declined to honor my husband's insistent request that I be driven home. Several hours later I woke up in a hospital, not knowing what had happened. But instead of being concerned with what was going on, or why I was in the hospital, I felt the most indescribable feeling of oneness with my Father. Without a doubt, I knew I was in God's care. I felt as if the room was absolutely filled with His presence and tender love for me. My husband had phoned a Christian Science practitioner, and his metaphysical work completely eliminated any temptation to be afraid. I felt only joy and peace.

The doctor recommended that I should stay flat on my back for six weeks. He told my husband of possible effects from the severe concussion and fractured shoulder that had been diagnosed. Then I was taken home without any medication having been administered. My husband gave me extraordinary care, and later on, a Christian Science nurse attended me.

There were a few hours that it appeared as if I were passing on. A dear friend came over and read Mrs. Eddy's words from Hymn No. 30 to me. These are the lines that close the second verse of this hymn: "Seek holy thoughts and heavenly strain, /That make men one in love remain." It occurred to me that a "heavenly strain" is simply the only strain there is. Matter has no power to influence or determine man's being, because God is Spirit, and this fact makes man spiritual. The pain in my body and the pressure in my head left instantly, and I could sit up. I was able to be back at my post in church two Sundays following the accident. There have been no aftereffects.

My gratitude for Christian Science is constantly reaching new heights. I pray that I may reach out and share my love and devotion to Christian Science in every possible way. The spiritual awakening that resulted from class instruction in Christian Science has been invaluable.

SUSAN A. CORY
Irvine, California