I would like to express my deep, heart-felt gratitude as a living witness to the presence and power of divine Love through radical reliance on Truth. It was the afternoon before Association Day, and I was to be the speaker. As I was walking across my hotel room, I tripped and fell forward. Immediately, I began praying to God, and these two simple, yet profound, words came to my thought: radical reliance.

I called out for help, but no one answered. There was material evidence of blood, damaged ribs, and difficulty breathing. I could barely walk to the bed. Finally, my best friend heard my cries and ran to help me up. She was a wonderful helper. She held fast to the Truth as I called a Christian Science practitioner. My friend stayed in my room all night assisting me. We were up every hour. When I slept, the carnal mind argued I would need a Christian Science nurse to care for me, so my friend could attend our Association meeting without me. But who would read the address I had prepared? It felt like I was reliving the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel.

At 5:30 a.m., my friend assisted me as I walked slowly to get ready for the day. This phrase came to me: “Mind can do it” (Science and Health 371:27). I hadn’t thought about this before. I just obeyed the divine words which I knew came from the “One ‘altogether lovely,’” because divine Love is the healer and therefore the doer.

Divine Love was truly sustaining me. The bleeding had stopped and I was able to shower and dress myself with very little pain. Even though we had had little sleep, my friend and I were totally refreshed and renewed with the divine energy of Spirit. There was a great deal of support from the practitioner and my dear friend. I was able to accomplish my duties as speaker for the Association. Our Association Day was beautiful and holy. It was like entering the Holy of Holies as I thought of the healing presence and power of God with everyone, including me.

But late that night, the carnal mind’s reaction came in with a vengeance. All of the symptoms returned and were exacerbated. The practitioner continued to support me at all hours of the day and night. At times, I couldn’t eat. My friend and my daughter cared for me when it was needed.

After two and a half weeks, I realized the claws of mortal mind had lifted and the healing was complete. There was no pain, and I could breathe freely and walk normally, as well as eat. This was a deeply moving healing experience. It was very much in line with Mrs. Eddy’s definition of miracle, which was referenced in the weekly Bible Lesson: “That which is divinely natural, but must be learned humanly; a phenomenon of Science” (Science and Health 591:21).

Throughout the entire healing, this statement from Science and Health was the rod I humbly leaned upon: “There is but one way – namely, God and His idea – which leads to spiritual being. The scientific government of the body must be attained through the divine Mind. It is impossible to gain control over the body in any other way. On this fundamental point, timid conservatism is absolutely inadmissible. Only through radical reliance on Truth can scientific healing power be realized” (Science and Health 167:24).

When the healing was complete, my dear friend shared these glorious words from the Christian Science Hymnal, which encapsulated my deep spiritual feelings about God: “You and You only are first in my heart; / Ours is a union that never will part. / And held in Your love, without doubt, without fear, / I know now within me that heaven is here” (Hymn 485:3).