“O side with God, and win.”

After eight weeks of disabling pain and swelling in my right knee and foot, I first felt strong enough and inspired to take my first 18 steps without crutches on our driveway. It was last year’s Association Day during the lunch break. I carried my crutches with me – just in case – but I did not need them. What an inspiring day in so many ways this was for me! I felt God’s law of progress.

The supposed cause of the crippling difficulty was my doing too much fast running up a hill several times.  Although I immediately called a Christian Science practitioner, after about a week of increasing pain, I felt compelled to see an orthopedic surgeon. X-rays were taken. He advised me to have an MRI and told me I might need a knee replacement. Thinking about having a knee replacement was even worse than the pain. 

When I couldn’t sleep, my wife read aloud healing treatments from “Recapitulation” in our textbook until the pain subsided, and I could finally rest. I doubled down on studying the Bible Lesson. I immersed myself in reading the healings on the Association website and in the Sentinel and Journal. When progress was not apparent, I scheduled an MRI. But the practitioner asked what the point was of getting a medical examination when I didn’t want to follow through with the treatment. The problem was not physical. I canceled the MRI.

My practitioner wrote this to me:

“God is the preserver of man. It doesn’t say an operation, or a pacemaker or an organ replacement is the preserver of man. Such an activity does not preserve man. It only deepens the mesmeric sleep of life in matter. It is God alone who preserves His creation by continuing to know what He has created as complete and whole. The journey from earth to heaven, from sense to Soul consists of a mental transformation whereby we replace material beliefs with spiritual facts. That’s the only replacement we seek, whereby a material sense of existence, human will and personal sense is being replaced with something more solid, enduring and perfect, namely spiritual facts, spiritual power, and spiritual harmony. This is having our at-one-ment with God.  Material mindedness is replaced with clear-sightedness, the inspired knowing that is Christ in you.”

A weeks later, my knee was completely healed. I could walk freely without needing crutches.  I could carry things I needed to carry up and down stairs. I had been set free physically, morally, spiritually. I thank God for this healing and for Christian Science, Christian Science practitioners, and for this Association.

“O side with God, and win.” (Hymn 216)