“Rise in the strength of Spirit…”

This testimony is about a healing that meant a lot to me this past week, as well as an appreciation for the Christian Science Bible Lessons.  I woke up on a Wednesday morning with the alarm in anticipation for my regular workday, which often includes a departure time from the house about 6 a.m.  It doesn’t always give a lot of time with the Bible Lesson although I do arise early so as to spend the needed time with it.  This particular morning I woke up with all the symptoms of a cold — a scratchy throat mainly and slight cough.  I recall thinking a little bit that tomorrow was Thanksgiving and would I need to adjust plans or the potential to feel unwell.

But mainly I thought about healing, and knew that yes, I had a task at hand, to see through this and even though I didn’t have a lot of time before work I could pray as best I could.  I naturally turned to the Bible Lesson and really felt myself giving my whole heart to the Lesson.  I really didn’t have any other choice.  Much of what I gained in that morning study was from the passages within the Lesson, but the turning point for me came from some of the surrounding passages.  We are all familiar with some of the strong statements in “Christian Science Practice” from pages 390-393.  One passage from the Lesson included the familiar statement that begins: “Rise in the conscious strength of the spirit of Truth…” (S&H 390:32-2).  I recalled the other “Rise” passage and turned to it one page over.  “Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good.” 

I recalled a practitioner I had worked with a number of months back and the love she had for the surrounding statements both in front of this line and behind it and how the sharing had been so helpful to me and had brought healing for another physical claim.  I turned to these lines again and really gravitated toward one particular idea, that I indeed had the Mind of Christ.  There was no other so-called law of mortal mind or matter in operation. {The whole passage reads: “The body seems to be self-acting, only because mortal mind is ignorant of itself, of its own actions, and of their results, — ignorant that the predisposing, remote, and exciting cause of all bad effects is a law of so-called mortal mind, not of matter.  Mind is the master of the corporeal senses, and can conquer sickness, sin, and death” (S&H 393:4-10).}   This idea so resonated with me and I knew it had particular meaning to me and this healing I was so hopeful for.  I found as I continued the Bible Lesson that other passages either stated or gave me the sense of this very same idea — that I had the Mind of Christ.

I can’t say I felt any different after reading the Bible Lesson, except that I was able to go to work.  At lunch where I often eat with other colleagues but this particular lunch I had on my own, I had a copy of Unity of Good by Mary Baker Eddy to read.  One particular phrase made me stop mid-sentence and I simply sat with it a few minutes just gaining its fuller meaning.  I was quickly reminded of that same feeling I had in the morning when I found that sweet passage that had meant so much to me and felt a deep sense of Science.  And it was at that moment that I realized I hadn’t had one cough, or reminder of a scratchy throat or anything similar to a cold that entire morning.  I sat there stunned a little bit, but that quickly turned to gratitude.

That night at Wednesday church I hesitated a bit to give the testimony as I wondered maybe something would return as far as symptoms, as it seemed such a quick healing to me, but I did give the testimony and it seemed a help to some people at the service.  But I wanted to make sure to state that I never again had a trace of a cold on that day or any other day since (about ten days ago).