Jack Kavanagh

I Made it to the Top of Angel’s Landing!

This last September 2020, my husband and I rented an RV and drove to Utah to visit all the beautiful National Parks like many others during the pandemic.   On our first day of hiking in Zion National Park, we decided take the hike called Angel’s Landing.  We did not know it at the time, but it is one of the most challenging hikes in the park.  So, on this hot September day we decide to hike this trail at 2pm in the afternoon.  As we headed up, we passed a woman bent over, red-faced and panting.  I immediately felt impelled to pray.  If I accepted that scenario for her, I was accepting it for myself too, and I would not make it up that hill.  But instead, if I turned to God and saw, what is defined in Christian Science as the true picture of man’s abilities, I could make it to the top and enjoy the beautiful view of that part of the Park.  Obviously, I decided to take the second option.  I began to remind myself that I, and all of mankind male and female, was the perfect expression of an all good, perfect God.  I could claim strength and stamina as mine because those abilities come from God, who is my source.  There were times, while working my way up that mountain, that I had to stop to rest but I did not stop my prayers.  I made it to the top.  The woman, whom I had seen earlier, made it to the top as well.  As she turned the last bend, her companions shouted her name they were so surprised to see her. Her continence had totally changed. She said “Yes, I made it!  See, even a woman with heart problems who had recently overcome cancer, could make it to the top!”  I silently rejoiced with her.

There is more to the story for me, as I was heading back down the mountain, my knees started hurting so much that I could barely walk.  There is an idea that going down the slope is harder that going up – especially on the knees. In the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Eddy, there is an allegory to a court case where material assumptions are presented and allayed by spiritual truth.  There is no material truth.  Matter and its claims are contrary to God and cannot emanate from God, Spirit.  I paused and leaned into the rock where there was a little sliver of shade. I looked around at the beautiful breathtaking scenes.  I thought of how they were just examples of the greatness & power of God.   I took my case to the court of Spirit.  Armed with the laws of Spirit; I took my stand.  I turned my thought completely over to God.  I let the feeling of health fill up my whole body from my toes to my nose.  I saw the problem as an illusive claim of what the bible calls the carnal mind.  I was instead, an expression of the divine Mind – God.  That Mind knew only health. This claim on my being of age or fatigue or out of shape was overcome by the feeling of God’s expression of health. That was the truth that filled my thought. It takes more time to read this than it took for my knees to stop hurting completely.  I headed down the mountain without any more pain.   In the next 8 days, we hiked every day 4 -6 miles each day.  We saw and felt the grandeur of God while we were looking out over many grand mountain-top expanses and wide-open night skies.  My husband and I had a wonderful time.

Karen McMullen

During the summer before my sophomore year, I was interning in Washington DC and bent on getting stronger and ready for my second soccer season. During one of my training practices, I had a severe shin injury that immediately ended my practice and placed me on crutches for the rest of the summer which was heart breaking. During a church service at the Christian Science branch church in Alexandria, VA, hymn 350 was played which was a turning point in my life at that time. The hymn started with “All will be well” which was reassuring that God had control in my life. This inspiration started the healing of the shin. I was able to partake in my favorite sport once again which felt fulfilling.

Boyowa Amuka

Hymn 350 from the Christian Science Hymnal

Through the love of God our Saviour All will be well;
Free and changeless is His favor; All must be well;
Precious is the Love that healed us,
Perfect is the grace that sealed us,
Strong the hand stretched forth to shield us;
All , all is well.

Though we pass through tribulation, All will be well;
Ours is such a full salvation, All must be well;
Happy still, in God confiding,
Fruitful, when in Christ abiding,
Holy, through the Spirit’s guiding;
All, all is well.

We expect a bright tomorrow, All will be well;
Faith can sing through days of sorrow, all must be well;
While His truth we are applying,
And upon His love relying,
God is every need supplying,
All, all is well.

For several years my daughter played softball, and so I was a coach and attended every practice. One practice I was batting and popped a ball up high in the infield on a sunny afternoon. My daughter was playing 2^nd base at the time and called for the ball. She is an excellent fielder, but the combination of wind, spin on the ball, and the bright sun resulted in the ball striking her right in the socket of her left eye such that everyone in the infield could hear the ball striking bone. Amazingly the ball had just barely touched the edge of her glove, then her eye, then she caught the ball with her free hand before it struck the ground. But everyone was looking at her and grimacing, as if in empathy/sympathy for her, immediately there were oohs and aahs, and comments that ‘that’s going to leave a mark’ and ‘ you want to take a water break’ or ‘ you want to lie down, that must really hurt’. I was so grateful to be there and just laugh and say ‘nice catch, but it’s ok to just use the glove’. And my daughter too was able to just laugh it off. Five minutes later when we did change softball drills, my daughter and I took a minute to remind ourselves that our entire purpose for being here playing softball with friends on the team was to have fun expressing God- the joy, energy,  active life of the game. These were qualities that came from God and that nothing could interfere with that. She continued playing the remainder of practice with no ill effects, never had a black eye, just had slight soreness at orbital bone for 1 day.

I am grateful for the assurance of the ever present protecting power of Divine Love, God,  that we are taught to acknowledge and trust in Christian Science.  In doing that, we see the evidence of relying on  His care as we did that day and many, many other days as well.

1. I am made in God’s image & likeness
2. I am not material, I am spiritual
3. I am God’s perfect child.

My Dad and I prayed together.  Three days later, I went to a surgeon.  He cut off my cast and said my arm was in good condition and I could start moving it.  I started my new job with both functioning arms and no pain.  That same day my new company was setting up in a new location, I was able to help with the move which included carrying 100 pound planters upstairs.

Travis

In recent years, I’ve been participating in a few bicycle rides and triathlons. At one such event I was riding in Fredericksburg, TX with a friend (Jack) on a 100 km bike ride. I was well prepared for this race and was riding pretty fast, about 20-22 mph. About 10 miles into the race it began to rain lightly. I did not know the course, except for the markers and signs along the way, and by now the riders were spaced out and riding mostly in small groups of 2 to 4. Today I was riding faster than my friend Jack, so we’d just decided to split up and I did not see anyone in front of me. I found myself accelerating down a slight hill and reached 36 mph when I noticed one of those yellow road signs detailing curves up ahead. So I stopped pedaling and saw the road turn sharply left about 50 yards ahead. I began to break but quickly realized the rain had coated all surfaces with water and the brakes were not effective. I also saw that the approaching turn ahead was too sharp for me to make at this speed and that there were large stones, some broken up pieces of concrete and a barbed wire fence straight ahead. So I determined that I needed to try to lay the bike down on its side. All this happened in about 2 seconds, so I was still going over 30 mph when I laid the bike down on its left side. But the bike did not slide smoothly, it caught the left pedal hard and bounced up, taking me head first into the concrete road then sliding along the pavement and coming to a stop just into the grass in front of some stones. My bike cleats came unclipped from the pedals, my helmet cracked, and I slid some on by butt, some on my elbows and knees, and impacted my face enough to break my glasses. Nothing was broken on me or the bike, although I had to re-straighten the handle bars and seat. And I was missing some skin and was bleeding, but not badly. Jack caught up to me in about a minute and helped me assess the situation. And we decided the bike was rideable and that he’d ride with me until we could find a bike stop to provide help and/or call a sag wagon. So, first I was slightly shocked by the event, never having been in such a high speed fall on a bike. Then I was feeling I was stupid for going so fast not knowing the course and embarrassed for finding myself in this situation. And finally, I was in some pain from the injuries and wondering how long I could ride before needing to just stop. I found comfort in reminding myself that, in spite of all the negative physical evidence, God was in control. I thought of words from a hymn “O, gentle presence peace and joy and power…”. I was also surprised that we rode 12 more miles before we even came to a water stop. Then, at the water stop there was no first aid of any kind and that this event had not provided a sag wagon (typically a truck or van to help repair bikes or give a fallen rider and his bike a trip to end of race).  We got local fireman to clean the wounds and provide bandages for me. And we just decided to complete the ride. We did find a shortcut but still had to ride 36 more miles and finished the race. I was grateful to have Jack with me and we got to our car, changed clothes, got me some ice for injuries, and called a Christian Science Practitioner (a person who is available to provide prayerful support). The prayers were focused on seeing that I (as a child of God) can never fall out of or be absent from God’s loving care. One main disturbance was the typical mental replay of the event that just kept repeating in my consciousness. As a Christian Scientist, I was not claiming that the event never occurred, just that now, going forward, my best course of action is to strive to draw closer to God. And that this ‘adjustment’ in thought brings about an adjustment in the physical conditions. I was sore for a few days, the skin took a couple of weeks to scab and heal, but we rode together 2 weeks later on a 50 mile Saturday ride.

Dale McMullen

I frequently ride my horse in the LBJ National Grasslands enjoying the tranquility and beauty of nature.  One day I was riding and decided to canter over a long open place in the trail.  My horse took about one stride of canter and then began violent bucking. I tried to stay on, but I couldn’t get my horse back under control. Finally, I was thrown and landed very hard on my back. My first thought was; “matter cannot hurt me”.  My next concern was to not let my horse run off without me, and a second thought came; “God has this in control”. I was 3 miles from my trailer and I sure did not want to walk back!

I was able to get up and, just as I thought, my horse had not run off. I immediately felt God’s protection and control.  I was in a lot of pain, but continuing to know that I, my horse, and the situation could only have a harmonious outcome because all are  God’s reflection and are governed by his  spiritual, harmonious action.  I was able to mount my horse and continue our ride for the next 8 miles enjoying a beautiful lake that I had not ridden to before and continuing to hold to the absolute facts of my spiritual being.

I was still working on seeing the reflection of perfect spiritual truth, seeing myself as unfallen, and whole.  My husband who is not a Christian Scientist was very concerned by the pain I felt when he touched my back. He insisted that I go to the emergency room.  I agreed because I did not want him to be concerned.  X-rays showed 3 transverse fractures of my spine.  The emergency room doctor said that I would to need stop all activities that I enjoy:  horseback riding and workouts at the gym, and be on my back for 6 to 8 weeks while the fractures healed. The doctor made an appointment for me to see a neurosurgeon.

This was sad news for me as I had been planning a horseback trip to British Columbia, Canada for a year.   The deposits were paid and airline tickets purchased for a girlfriend and myself to leave in less than 5 weeks.  I also attend HIIT (high intensity interval training) classes and other gym classes 7 times a week.

The Christian Science Weekly Bible Lesson that week was on “Truth” and I studied it earnestly applying the truths to myself, my husband, and mortal mind’s medical suggestions.  The Golden text from The Amplified Bible said “I will hear [with expectant hope] what God the Lord will say.”  I knew that the reality of God and His universe was the only Truth that I could hear.  The fact was that the surgeon could only see good in me because that was all God made me to be.  All that really exists is the Word of God.  If the Word of God declares something to be, it is true and lasting.  My being is perfect, spiritual truth just as God declares it to be in Genesis 1: 26 to 31.

Several days later, I was in the neurosurgeon’s office waiting to get his prognosis. The neurosurgeon came in and said he saw no reason that I  could not do all activities with no restrictions other than taking it easy!  My prayers were answered and I was declared whole, as I knew was true. Though the neurosurgeon had given me the all-clear I knew that it was not by his authority I was complete, but God’s divine authority.  I was so grateful to resume all activities knowing that my spiritual being was never in matter or touched by what matter/mortal mind suggested.

This healing took place during July of 2019.

— Janet Rowe, Decatur, TX