I've long been grateful for the inspiring testimonies published in the Christian Science magazines. They've contributed much to my spiritual growth and understanding of the healing power and presence of God's Word as taught in the Bible: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner off the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb. 4:12). A recent experience I had involved going deeper with these ideas.

One Saturday evening in December 2008, I returned home after an enjoyable dinner with friends and family. As I got out of the car to go into the house, however, I suddenly found that my legs were barely supporting me, and there was extreme pain. I didn't hesitate to immediately turn to God in prayer, as I knew from experience that prayer in Christian Science is totally reliable. I declared out loud that this condition was a lie about me that I was not about to accept as true. Mary Baker Eddy's writings make clear that discordant physical conditions don't originate in the body, but are wholly mental, and are eradicated by understanding the truth about God and our relationship to Him.

I was able to get myself into the house and into bed, praying all the way. My fears began to dissolve as I affirmed that I could never be outside the presence of divine Love. Then I had the thought that I needed to yield completely to this divine presence. That meant letting go of the material unreality—the sense of pain and incapacity—and listening for what God was telling me about my spiritual identity. Soon I fell asleep and rested peacefully through the night.

In the morning, I found that the symptoms had not abated, though I was able to move around slowly. Disappointment gripped me when it occurred to me that I might not be able to fulfill my duties as First Reader at church. But then I remembered what my Christian Science teacher had said—that in the face of difficulty where our duties were concerned, we could always accept and claim healing, knowing that God's work is complete and perfect, and that we reflect His perfection. Joyfully I embraced this wonderful opportunity and challenge to recognize my own wholeness right then and there. I also knew that I would feel the support of my fellow church members. I arrived at church early to set up, and so as not to draw attention to the difficulty.

During the service, at one point the symptoms worsened. However, I stayed focused on the passages in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy that I was reading and the truths they were affirming. The subject that week was about man and the universe as not having evolved materially but as being the reflection of God.

I read this passage: "God is the creator of man, and, the divine Principle of man remaining perfect, the divine idea or reflection, man, remains perfect. Man is the expression of God's being. If there ever was a moment when man did not express the divine perfection, then there was a moment when man did not express God, and consequently a time when Deity was unexpressed—that is, without entity" (p. 470).

The science and power of these ideas came over me like bright sunshine, and in the next moments, all the symptoms vanished. I felt an immediate and complete relief from the pain, and normal strength returned to my legs. From then on, my only challenge was to hold back the tears of gratitude for this wonderful healing.

Science and Health states, "Through spiritual sense you can discern the heart of divinity, and thus begin to comprehend in Science the generic term man" (pp. 258–259). Though we often turn to Christian Science for physical relief, we also find a far greater gift—the knowledge that we can never be separated from God's all-power and care.

SUZY PEPPLE
CARROLLTON, GEORGIA, US