In 2005 I fell while ice skating, badly injuring my right arm. It was obvious that there was breakage at the elbow. There was also extreme bruising and swelling, and I wasn’t able to move my arm in a normal manner. The rink manager said they would call an ambulance to take me directly to a hospital, but, turning in thought to what I knew about God’s unfailing care for all His children, I felt I could decline that offer. I knew I needed to do something, so I asked God to show me the way to go.

My first stop was a Christian Science nursing facility, where a Christian Science nurse gently fitted me with a sling. She tenderly reminded me that often the biggest obstacle to overcome in seeking a healing in such cases is fear. After this, I continued to pray, working to better understand my inseparability from God. I asked a Christian Science practitioner to support me prayerfully. I worked diligently with the practitioner to fully realize my ongoing and unbroken relationship to God.

After a few days, I decided that having the bones set was the right answer for me. After the procedure to set the bones, the doctor told me it would take six months to a year for the bones in the elbow to heal enough to allow removal of the pins he’d inserted to hold the bones in place. However, after about five weeks, it felt as if the bones had healed, and I went back for an appointment. When the doctor saw the new X-rays, they showed perfectly healed bones without even a scar. With this, the doctor agreed to remove the pins.

Even though the bones were healed, I still could not come even close to fully bending or straightening my arm. The doctor, who had required that I attend some physical therapy sessions before the pins were removed, said that only with many months of additional and intensive physical therapy could I hope to improve my range of motion. But even that, according to medical opinion, would not likely bring a complete cure. At best, I could expect to gain 70 percent of the range I’d had before the accident. I decided to decline further physical therapy because I fully expected to see a complete healing through prayer.

For the next few weeks, I continued to affirm that my real being had never been broken. I came to see that the illusion that man lives in a material body was the only thing that could be shattered. During this time of continued prayer and acknowledging God’s power, I saw gradual improvement until I reached somewhere around that 70 percent range of motion mark.

As I continued to pray with the expectation of full healing, one day it occurred to me to look up what the Bible and Mary Baker Eddy’s writings have to say about “stretching.” I found the healing of the man with the withered hand in the Bible, and as I read through the familiar story, I remember loving how totally unimpressed Jesus had been with the appearance of physical limitation being presented, so much so that he told the man to “stretch forth” his withered hand. I thought about how Jesus probably had every expectation that his command would be obeyed. Even though all evidence suggested that he shouldn’t be able to do it, the man did obey and the hand “was restored whole as the other” (see Mark 3:1–5).

Then I read Mrs. Eddy’s comments about that incident in Unity of Good, saying that Jesus “heeded not the taunt, ‘That withered hand looks very real and feels very real;’ …” (p. 11). I began to see that there was no reason I could not be similarly receptive to the Christ-like ideas revealing to me the very same wholeness and ability Jesus saw in the man with the withered hand.

When I told the practitioner about these thoughts, she suggested that perhaps I’d found my healing. After considering that idea for a bit, I decided I could accept that. Over the next three months, although nothing outwardly changed at first, I continued to cherish these ideas on my own. One day during that period, I suddenly understood, absolutely and with full conviction, that no matter how real the inflexibility in my arm appeared to be, I wasn’t impressed with the physical evidence or human opinions because I really understood and experienced the spiritual nature of my being as I never had before. I felt, as the hymn says, “The dawn of all things real is breaking o’er me” (Violet Hay, Christian Science Hymnal, No. 64, ©CSBD), and I knew without a doubt that I was free.

Not long after, I woke up one morning and heard a thought in my mind: “Stretch out your hand,” and I knew I could do it. So right there in bed, I stretched out my arm. I felt a slight adjustment, allowing the forearm to extend until it was completely straight. It was a beautiful moment, one in which I keenly felt the power and presence of God, and I have had the full use of my arm and hand ever since.

Ruth Merry Outland
Godfrey, Illinois, US