Test time

I have attended Sunday School since I was a small child, and what I’ve learned has helped me a lot in confronting difficulties that come up in my daily life.

About five years ago, when I was helping my aunt make pancakes, I carelessly picked up the pancake iron in the wrong place and burned five fingers. I started to cry, and ran home and told my mom what had happened. My hand was red and stung a lot, so I thought it would be a good idea to plunge it into water. But I didn’t feel the relief I expected. I got very worried because school finals were starting that week.

My mother immediately remembered a testimony that had been published in The Herald of Christian Science. It talked about how a plastic flower is captivating and real-looking, but actually is a counterfeit and has no sensation at all. The plastic flower was compared with sickness. So I saw how, in spite of the shocking evidence of a burn, I could still hold firmly to the understanding of my spiritual nature, which, as the reflection of divine Spirit, could not feel a burning sensation or be damaged. I acknowledged that there was no pain in Spirit and that all was perfect in Spirit’s control. I affirmed this spiritual truth and concentrated only on God and on the perfection of His creation. I also understood that nothing could prevent Mind from expressing itself during the finals.

I made an effort to silently disagree with what people at school were saying to me about my hand stinging and going through a gradual restoration process that was considered normal in the case of a burn.

I read the Christian Science Bible Lesson and tried to assimilate as much as I could of its message, as a way of fortifying my prayers even more. In this way I was able to completely tune out thoughts of the burn. Soon, the few blisters that had appeared on my fingers dried up without causing me any pain. Two days later, I was able to take a school exam without any physical difficulty. In fact, I took all my finals without any problem. Also, I never had any scars.

I’m very grateful for testimonies and articles with spiritual ideas that always help me a lot, and also for the teachings of Christian Science, for increasingly strengthening my faith in God’s love.

by Lonie

From the June 1, 2009 Sentinel