A dislocated shoulder put in its right place

The morning before Thanksgiving this past year, I awoke with a very painful shoulder that was almost impossible to move. Within a few minutes it became very clear that somehow the shoulder had become dislocated.

Since we were hosting several families for Thanksgiving dinner, I became concerned about how all this would work. In hindsight, I must admit I had just made my first error in believing that it would take time to treat this claim, and as I was the sous chef and co-host, I would have to work around it until I had time to address it metaphysically. The second error was that since I was the only Christian Scientist in my family, if I took time out to address the claim, others would notice, typically with comments. So I figured out a way to reduce the discomfort and pressed on. The prep work and the dinner went well, with no one other than my wife noticing I was not fully functional.

After everyone left that evening, I retired to my office for some prayerful work. On my desk was a printout of an article entitled “In Our Right Place” by Richard H. Strain (Journal, February 1965). I had started to study the article before the holiday, when I been listening for guidance regarding the right places for my wife and me now that we were both retired. Out of curiosity, I picked it up and continued to read.

The article was fascinating. It focused primarily on careers, communities, and homes, but as I read it this time, I saw that the well written discussion about God leading us into right places also applied perfectly to my shoulder. As God’s complete, perfect, compound spiritual idea, no aspect of my being could ever be out of place in any shape, time, place, or situation. This thought came through so clearly that I had to reread the article several times to make sure I wasn’t misreading its subject matter. I wasn’t—the moment I refocused my thought on the permanence, perfection, and completeness of my spiritual being, the text of this article now addressed ALL aspects of my being, including my shoulder, never being anywhere but in its right place.

I don’t think I had been reading the article in this expanded application for more than 10 minutes when I felt my shoulder gently and painlessly sliding into its “right place.” In fact, I could hear it click back together. I immediately had full mobility of that arm, and within several hours any remaining discomfort had totally disappeared.

While I was most grateful for the physical healing, I must admit that two other lessons from this healing carried the most learning. First, there is no time dimension to any healing that can preclude us from addressing it right here and right now. In Christian Science healing, we are not going through some complex changes or refitting to make things right again—our healing work is focused solely on seeing what has always been true. No time is needed to see and know the truth. After all, how long does it take to know that 2 + 2 truly does equal 4?

Second, I can never be the only Christian Scientist in any situation—God is infinite All and ever here! Hymn 53 in the Christian Science Hymnal clarifies this further:

Everlasting arms of Love
Are beneath, around, above;
God it is who bears us on,
His the arm we lean upon.

He our ever-present guide
Faithful is, whate’er betide;
Gladly then we journey on,
With His arm to lean upon.

From earth’s fears and vain alarms
Safe in His encircling arms,
He will keep us all the way,
God, our refuge, strength and stay.

While I am always grateful for some good pie at Thanksgiving, this year I must admit our meal was much deeper and far more fulfilling than planned. But yes, the pie was pretty good, too!