One day in August, 1985, I was out shopping in Yonkers, New York. All
of a sudden my thought turned from my pursuit of things to furnish my home, and I knew I had to go directly
home. In the car, I found myself praying for my two children. Finally, I felt my thought
so elevated and joyful and free. In my mind's eye, I can see so clearly where I was at that very
moment. It was at the Hartsdale train station.
When I arrived home in White Plains, my husband called to me from the living room that the police had called and told him
that our two children had collided with a car after riding their bikes down a hill in Scarsdale. I walked to the telephone
in our bedroom to call a Christian Science practitioner for prayerful support. Before I even picked up the telephone, the
thought came to me that this was going to be to the glory of God, and only good would come from it! I left a message for the
practitioner, and we drove to White Plains Hospital.
In the emergency room, our two children seemed to be subdued, but they were awake. I informed the Hospital that I was a
Christian Scientist, which they respected. At no time was it necessary to do anything for the children medically other than
to monitor them. We did reach the practitioner while we were at the Hospital, and she began to support us.
Other than a laceration on my daughter's leg, there didn't appear to be any great concern. The children seemed to be shaken,
but intact. I felt everything was in God's control. We were told that they had to remain overnight, and I arranged for a cot
so I could stay beside our seven-year-old son.
Our fifteen-year-old daughter was put into another room, and after seeing that she was settled there, I didn't see her
again until the next morning. I felt certain that she was alright.
My son said to us, "I fell asleep on my bike." The doctor then expressed the concern that my son might have a concussion.
At that moment, a truth that I had memorized from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy,
came to me: Both Science and consciousness are now at work in the economy of being according to
the law of Mind, which ultimately asserts its absolute supremacy.
No more was said about a concussion. This powerful truth instantly rendered the concussion an impossibility. In fact, my
son had a peaceful sleep in the hospital that night.
At one point, a nurse told me that they had to monitor the children's vital signs every hour. They had to be awakened every
hour, to ascertain that they could come to consciousness. The forethought, or promise, came to me that every time this monitoring
was to take place, a good report would be written.
At about 10:00 in the evening, the nurse couldn't rouse my son. I said to her, "He's sleeping peacefully. This is expected
in Christian Science treatment [the peace, that is]." She didn't waken him again that night.
Early the next morning, my husband called to tell me that the doctor had told him that he would be in to check the children
around nine o'clock. He said that if he determined that they were alright, they could go home. This was proof to me that the
promise of a good report was indeed fulfilled. And the children were released from the hospital as expected, to their grateful
and joyful parents.
We later learned at the police station from reading the report of the accident that our son's head had hit the window of
the car when he was thrown from his bike during the collision.
After we returned home, during the evening (I can't recall whether it was the first or second evening back home) while
he was sleeping, my son began crying for a while. My husband took him the next day to the doctor, who found that John had
a condition that required a cast for his arm. He wore this cast with a sling for a short period, without any apparent discomfort,
and he was his usual happy self throughout the whole time until the appointment to remove it a week or two later. I had forgotten
all about this when I first wrote this piece, because I had not been impressed by it. There was no question to me as to the
completeness of the healing, despite this physical condition.
This incident occurred on August 5, 1985. Soon our daughter returned to school, after summer vacation was over. She boarded
during the week and returned home on the weekend. During her first weekend home, she told me that in Bible class she had told
the class about the collision and that she had seen her body lying down on the ground. She said that she didn't know where
she was, but she heard the ambulance driver talking to her. Then she said she felt the ambulance driver's hand, and she came
back. She said that her teacher said that she came back because God has a purpose for her here.
For me, this episode was a tremendous religious experience. Mrs. Eddy, in referring to Jesus' awaking of "...Lazarus from
the dream, illusion of death,..." says on page 493 of Science and Health, "Who dares to doubt this consummate test
of the power and willingness of divine Mind to hold man forever intact in his perfect state, and to govern man's entire action?"
This lesson taught me well, there can be no doubt! God, and God alone, is the one Life of all men, even as it was proven to
me that day.