“I needed to counteract mortal mind’s incessant chatter”
/1. Since reading the book, I realized how much more I needed to counteract mortal mind’s incessant chatter, and instead, ask for, and listen for, Gods’ direction.
2. As I read the book with the assignment in mind, I recorded page numbers and a few words to describe testimonies under the heading ‘Possible Favorites’ and wound up with 18 of them: ‘Why don’t you heal your wife yourself’( p.18), Indian captive (p.43), physician turned Christian Scientist (p.55), 14-year-old with children on a lake (p.110), fear of a cleft palate (p.111), from minister to student of Christian Science (p.117), healing of unruly prisoner (p.131), WWII POW (p.136), lost eyesight (p.147), longterm healing (p.156), cyanide crystals (p.168), “The oranges you are seeking are the fruits of Love, and I am going to help you find them” (p. 177), “I can’t help my nature” (p.192), red lights (p.193), aircraft engineer cantilever design (p.195), reform school (p.203), “’I’healed me” (p.217), airplane engineer gearing mechanism (p.227), aircraft flameout (p.229).
I’ll start with a testimony given on February 4, 1955, by Dr. Ernest H. Lyons, Jr., professor of chemistry at Principia College as part of the weekly radio broadcast “How Christian Science Heals” and then later repeated on television.
Dr. Lyons told of how he was able to overcome fatal poisoning from cyanide crystals he saw lodged in an accidental burn wound he received during a lab procedure. His thought was: “But I was not frightened of poisoning for I was conscious of the presence of infinite Life, God, overruling the picture of accident and possible death.” After a sudden, completely unexpected accident, to immediately have such a healing thought beginning with no fear, suggests to me someone who is continually and totally leaning on God and the teachings of Christian Science – and demonstrates how dedicated and prepared we need to be as Christian Scientists. What impressed me just as much, though, was the way Dr. Lyons respectfully, thoroughly, even lovingly, replied to a chemical engineer who took radical opposition upon hearing his testimony. Dr. Lyons’ written reply demonstrated to me how completely selfless a true Christian Scientist is in taking no offence and sharing all he believes could enlighten and benefit the offender. I treasure this Christ-like attitude.
My next testimony choice would have to be that of Adrienne Vinciguerra, the WWII POW whose story spans several years. About being in the war camp, she related “…we seemed to be surrounded by the power of evil and nothing else.” But when she opened her thought enough to catch a glimpse of a new startling view, she began an inspired completely God-centered life of remarkable demonstrations – each one of them could be a memorable testimony by itself.
Adrienne had been allowed two weeks from the concentration camp to seek help for poor eyesight. The eye specialist, who said he could do nothing for her medically, told her that what she needed was faith in God and gave her a copy of Science and Health. She could not fathom, at the time, how she could have faith in a God she apparently saw no evidence of and resisted reading the book. That a doctor at that time (or maybe because it was at that particular time) would tell someone he could not help that she needed faith in God and give her the means to find it, is quite remarkable in itself! At his insistence, she finally began to read. In a week’s time, when she had to return to camp, she related “…the expression on my face had changed so much that some of the people in the camp didn’t recognize me.”
I have always been drawn to testimonies of how others have been introduced to Christian Science. “How I Found Christian Science” is the first thing I look for in the Sentinel. I think it could also be named “How Christian Science Found Me.”
3. Several years ago, my dentist advised me to get a second root canal on a tooth because of a shadowy area that showed up on a routine X-ray. She said that I could suddenly have extreme pain that could only be alleviated with immediate attention. I remember thinking that this would be a good opportunity to rely on Christian Science. A few years went by, and I had forgotten about this until, as I was in the midst of chairing a fundraiser, the tooth began to throb. For the first time, I called a practitioner and at the end of the call she asked, “Are you going to church tomorrow?” to which I replied “Yes.”
Later that evening, as I was trying to go to sleep, the pain seemed to shift to a different area. I declared “you are a liar and the father of it.” I was then able to drift off to sleep and went to church the next day with only a slight discomfort that soon disappeared. Interestingly enough, that same tooth had to be re-crowned after another few years, and this time a second root canal had to be done before the dentist would do the second crown, since the new X-ray still indicated a problem. As the second root canal was being done, the doctor found a very unusual third root on that tooth that had been missed entirely on the first one!
4. I’ve already become more active in our branch church. I am becoming more aware of opportunities to have and sometimes share healing thoughts when needed. I’ve gone back to reading the ‘Articles and Editorials’ that were shared with us by our teacher some years ago and am making more of an effort to “stand porter at the door of thought.”