During a bus tour in November 1999, I fell while carrying my luggage in a hotel. It was a hard fall and so painful that I felt it wise to go to the emergency room. The diagnosis was a broken shoulder.

I decided to have the bone set, which involved an operation. A metal implant about six inches long was put into the shoulder, but during the ensuing therapy it was evident that something was wrong. The doctor said the operation would have to be redone. At that moment, I decided that I wanted to put my trust in God. I had been a Christian Scientist all my life and I knew that God is all-powerful. If God is all-powerful, I thought, how can matter—which has no intelligence, life or being—be any help to me? It was clear to me that it could not. So I decided not to have the second operation, but to rely on Christian Science treatment instead.

I called a Christian Science practitioner to pray with me and was very diligent in studying the weekly Bible Lesson (found in the Christian Science Quarterly) and other Christian Science literature. This citation by Mary Baker Eddy was especially important to me: “A spiritual idea has not a single element of error, and this truth removes properly whatever is offensive” (Science and Health, p. 463). It helped me to realize, first, that I am a spiritual idea, and not a vulnerable mortal. This meant that I could only go forward, progress, in my spiritual understanding of God and His goodness. And I saw that filling my consciousness with such goodness would take away anything from my experience that was not right.

However, the difficulty did not yield. For several years, I continued to experience pain in my shoulder, and the incision continued to drain. And I still harbored resentment toward the doctor who operated on it. At times, I wrestled with discouragement. But with the steadfast support of the practitioner, those moments of discouragement didn’t last long. I often held to the idea that I was “…unfallen, upright, pure, and free…” (Science and Health, p. 171). It seemed to me that this statement covered just about everything. And that filling my thought with an idea like that didn’t leave room for anything else. In retrospect, I see that I was growing spiritually, even if I didn’t realize it at the time.

Then, last May, I read an article in the Journal entitled “Break free from the past” (Margaret Rogers, May 2005, pp. 45—46). It told of a prison inmate named Daniel Leonard who was healed of anger. When he completely let go of his resentment toward a person who had shot him, the bullet lodged near his heart—which doctors had been unable to remove—came out of his chest naturally. Daniel felt that “God had given him a new heart—physically and emotionally.” After being released from prison, he began a new life, working steadily and helping others in need.

The article explained that freedom from a troublesome history is possible for everyone, that “everyone has a spiritual identity that is untouched by sin and hurt.” The article went on to say, “Human history doesn’t shape or comprise that identity, God does. God is the infinite ‘I AM,’ as the Bible says, and everyone’s real identity is the image of that perfect, divine Spirit.”

As I read this article, I had such a strong feeling that “with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27). I just knew that I had never been separated from God and that there was nothing preventing me from reflecting His perfect image and likeness. It felt like a revelation. At that moment, all the resentment I had felt toward the doctor vanished. I knew he had done his best, and I no longer blamed him for anything.

From that point on, I decided to be very careful to watch my thoughts and not allow anything to enter my consciousness that did not come from God, from divine Love. I wanted to reject any lie about God and His creation and to allow the Christ, the voice of Truth, to correct such lies with the fact that all of God’s children are whole and complete, innocent and Godlike. I really endeavored to change the way I was thinking and to see God’s goodness in everyone and everything.

Then, one morning about two months later, I awoke with a feeling of something heavy lying on my chest. The metal implant had come out of my shoulder during the night—apparently while I was asleep because I had felt nothing. The incision stopped draining and closed up completely. I have had no painful sensation since that moment and now have free use of my arm.

I feel like shouting my gratitude and joy to the whole world.