A file in my drawer has handwritten testimonials of times I applied the practical rules and concepts of Christian Science in my daily living and experienced physical healings. The following was one of a healing I had of an apparently sprained ankle back in the summer of 1994.
It was while I was co-director of a Youth Camp in Ontario’s Algonquin Provincial Park on the beautiful shores of Whitefish Lake. It was not uncommon to wake up in at base camp to find a moose or two standing nearby munching on vegetation.
Each year we took a mid-week 3 day canoe trip to the ‘interior’- inaccessible by car or motor boat. The group was of about 20 people spread over several canoes and one kayak.
Early on in the trip we had a 1.7 km. portage. After my first drop off I returned to the beginning of the trail to get another load to carry when I suddenly twisted my ankle. Oh no! I thought- I still had 2 trips to make, and there were two more portages to go before reaching our site on a pristine interior lake.
Fears immediately began to set in. I didn’t want the whole trip spoiled- nor did I want to be a burden on my fellow campers. But it was an ideal opportunity to put Christian Science to good use in praying for the situation. So I reached out mentally and earnestly to God (I didn’t record what ideas I worked with at this point of my account, but likely it was as simple as knowing that God was Love, and Love was ever-present and surrounding me, and that man is made in the image and likeness of God- as mentioned in chapter one of Genesis). It helped me enough to take my thought off of the ankle. Correspondingly I was able to continue the long arduous portages without too much trouble- delivering more packs and paddles to the other end of the portage.
But that evening at our destination site I started limping severely. Instead of helping cook dinner I thought it wise to do some metaphysical/prayerful work and let the other directors look after things, and they were supportive.
I went to my tent and studied my Christian Science Bible Lesson, consisting of citations from the Bible and also from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. It’s the same Lesson covering a weekly topic that is read Sunday in Christian Science churches around the world.
I was so tempted to just fall asleep in my cozy retreat but I fought the tendency knowing I really needed to do the ‘mental work’ that would potentially heal me from my physical problem- which really has its roots in the mental arena as the body so often manifests the conditions of one’s own thinking.
This ‘mental work’ to me is really is the ‘working out of [my] own salvation’ spoken of in the Bible: that being on earth is an opportunity to grow spiritually– to overcome problems and challenges that are unique to individual thought through better understanding my own nature as God’s reflection and likeness and His spiritual creation.
There are so many times that it’s tempting not to stand up to fear. I love the story of David and Goliath as it clearly illustrates the possibilities of relying on God to guide us as we face giant-seeming situations that try to dominate our lives. I needed to tackle my Goliath right there in the tent: a giant-sized fear of being a ‘cripple’ for the remainder of the trip!
So I studied and prayed for about 2 hours: digging into the spiritual ideas of these books- for inspiration and insights that would free me.
A breakthrough idea dawned and resonated through me (and I noticed- though I wasn’t looking for it- a sensation of the immediate mending of my injury)- – that God, being Spirit, was my support and that spiritual substance was infallible, because I was inseparable from God as one of His spiritual ideas- and that was my true substance. Matter really had no lasting part of me if I was God’s perfect spiritual man.
Also the concept of flexibility was of great help to me as I prayed. It would seem that my ankle was a picture of inflexibility as I had been keeping it rigid to help me get around. But flexibility is a spiritual concept and can’t be opposed by the material picture of things. God, Spirit was more powerful and substantial and long-lasting than matter.
I had an overwhelming sense of gratitude during these clearer realizations of my relationship to God and emerged from the tent feeling completely unafraid and fully confident that I was healed.
I was God’s flexible idea and I could lean on the substance of Spirit to maintain and sustain me.
I shared an idea for an evening activity and it was went over well and we all had fun.
Afterwards I sat on at the edge of a rock with a co-director and friend as the loons called hauntingly and beautifully on the placid small lake. I remember looking up to the evening stars twinkling clearly and brightly above. We had a great conversation and I could feel a change had gone on in my thought- like some attitude-adjustment was going on.
The next day I was consistently strong and able to function normally. I even did two more portages in which I solo-carried a canoe over my head- something I’d never done before- and I felt so especially grateful to be expressing such dominion.
The rest of camp had many had many more activities that I participated in without a hitch, including volleyball. The ankle had healed so fast and thoroughly that I had an aura of amazement and gratitude for Christian Science for the remainder of the camp.
(photo credit: Jeremy Hung, kayak, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
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