Photo and story by John Hunter - The Christian Science Journal Sept. 2006
This summer, I enrolled in an introductory photography course with a focus on infrared and high speed films. I was hesitant at first, since I’d struggled with mechanics and process during my last photo class back in my sophomore year in high school. But this university class was much different. It gave me a fresh perspective on photography. I was excited and involved, turning inspiration and experience into unique and interesting art.
The photo class had me crawling through sewers, climbing buildings, meeting all types of people, and experimenting with all sorts of subject matter. I would often experiment at night, using flashlights or even fireworks as my subjects. I would hop fences or crawl through mud to get to a specific location if it fascinated me. I loved going on these excursions, searching for different perspectives on the typical or mundane.
A couple of months ago, during one of these excursions, I was injured while attempting to obtain a particularly tricky photograph at a friend’s house. I had planned to capture the light from a rifle shot, but when I pulled the trigger, the metal scope kicked back, striking me hard in the forehead. One of the guys who was with me immediately suggested that I get stitches to close the wound.
My immediate thought was simply, No. I understood my friend’s concern, but I have been studying and practicing Christian Science my whole life and have seen its good effects. At the moment it happened, I didn’t feel any fear. I felt so loved by God and unimpressed by the situation. I’ve known since I was little that God always cares for us, and I knew that day was no different.
I shut myself in a room at my friend’s house and just sat and listened.
Often our own thoughts are so loud that we cannot hear that “still small voice” of God that the Bible talks about (I Kings 19:12). But this time I prayed to hear it. Then I called my mother and asked for her help through prayer. For a young adult who cherishes his independence, it’s not always clear how much support friends, family, and God actually provide me. I realized that the mentality that says “the only one you can depend on is yourself” is selfish and false.
My mother, who lives in another state, helped me arrange an appointment with a Christian Science nurse nearby who could clean and bandage the wound. Both the nurse and the Christian Science practitioner, who my parents had also called, gave me the metaphysical reinforcement I needed. The practitioner gave me and my family a great statement from Science and Health to work with in our prayers, which my dad read to me over the phone.
When an accident happens, you think or exclaim, ‘I am hurt!’ Your thought is more powerful than your words, more powerful than the accident itself, to make the injury real.Now reverse the process. Declare that you are not hurt and understand the reason why, and you will find the ensuing good effects to be in exact proportion to your disbelief in physics, and your fidelity to divine metaphysics, confidence in God as All, which the Scriptures declare Him to be (p. 397)
The bleeding stopped quickly, and I felt well enough to reassure my friends that I was fine. Soon I was able to drive to my appointment with the Christian Science nurse. During this time my entire family was praying for me. The love I felt was enough to make anyone feel better! Even friends who had no knowledge of the situation ended up calling me “just to say hello” that afternoon. A day later all that remained of a pretty dramatic wound was a thin line.
This whole experience made me see that I am always loved and that I am never alone. And what it reinforced for me was that one can be independent—but still rely on God.
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