Healing stories from South Africa
Reprinted from the July 25 & August 1, 2011 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.
Sunday School students from Third Church of Christ, Scientist, in Johannesburg, South Africa, share their healings and inspiration.
I have learned a lot from Christian Science. I've had some healings from praying to God. Praying really helped me through exams and some home problems. I prayed more about school work, and I was really amazed at how I was achieving good marks. Mary Baker Eddy said in Science and Health, "All is under the control of the one Mind, even God" (p. 544). It shows that God is with you and is giving you the ideas you need. You just need to be calm and trust in God. The Bible says in Proverbs, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart" (3:5). I am so grateful that I came to Christian Science. The most important thing is knowing how to pray to God!
Senelisiwe Nkomo
"There are no accidents in God's kingdom." This thought occurred to me on Christmas Day last year, when I accidently jumped on my younger brother's toe while playing Xbox Kinect. I am very tall and had high heels on at the time. This incident occurred suddenly, just before my family and I were to go out for Christmas lunch. I knew that I had to turn to God for help so that both my brother and I could participate completely in all the excitement.
I was worried that my brother was hurt, but also knew I didn't need to buy into material thinking. I prayed with my brother, telling him what I had learned in Sunday School—that there can be no accidents in God's kingdom. I reminded him that he was a spiritual idea and could not be hurt, as he was God's image and likeness. If God could not be hurt, neither could he. Afterward, my brother was fine and we were able to go to lunch with our aunt and uncle.
The healing completed itself when my brother forgave me for jumping on his toe and I forgave myself because God does not punish us. He sees us as perfect. My brother's toe healed instantly and showed zero signs of injury. All thanks to God and His unwavering protection.
Gemma Ritchie
I started attending this Christian Science Sunday School when I was eight years old, and Christian Science has helped me massively. It has given me a spiritual understanding and has helped me grow. In addition, it has healed me in so many ways. Recently, quite a large amount of money for which I was responsible was stolen at work. I knew that all reflect God, Truth, and so must reflect honesty. My Sunday School teacher was sending me notes on honesty and how the truth would be revealed. Soon, an envelope containing half of the money was found through unusual circumstances. I was very grateful for this, as I would have had to pay back the full amount out of my earnings.
Another healing of mine was when I had scraped the skin off my toe during the Christmas holidays. It was painful. However, I decided to pray about it and knew that pain does not exist in the kingdom of God. A few days later I realized I'd forgotten all about the toe—and when I checked on it, I saw it had healed completely.
Christian Science has also helped me school-wise, especially with my final exams. Praying and knowing that "God sets the questions; God knows the answers; God also marks the papers" helped me a lot and kept me calm throughout these final exams. I achieved so much!
Christian Science has had a great impact in my life. Not only does it help in my healings, but also in everything I do daily.
Moleboheng Beauty Masehlelo
I was very nervous about writing my test for my driver's learner's license, so I contacted my Sunday School teacher. She told me that, just like "I walk with Love along the way" (Hymn 139 in the Christian Science Hymnal), I also "Drive with Love along the way." I knew that God gave each one of us potential, including to drive, so it made sense for me to demonstrate this in getting my license. We are all made in His image and likeness, and are the reflections of Him (the only one all-knowing Mind). Mind is good and spiritual, so there is no reason to worry about relying on a human mind; therefore, I could be confident that I would be supported in passing the test.
I thought about this the whole night before, as well as the morning of my test, and prayed thoroughly. While I was writing my test, I kept on going through Hymn 304 by Mary Baker Eddy, which begins, "Shepherd, show me how to go." I knew God was right there beside me, showing me which way to go and leading me in the right direction. My Sunday School teacher had also given me passages from the Bible about not being afraid because God is at my right hand (see Isa. 41:13).
I ended up passing my test and am truly grateful to God for helping me and showing me the right away through divine Mind.
Nikki Papadopoulos
During my final year at school last year, I struggled to cope with all the work and with the insecurity of what would happen after that. I didn't want to study a course at university that wasn't right for me.
At first I was interested in studying architecture, but was disappointed when I wasn't accepted at one of the universities to which I'd applied. It made me think that perhaps this wasn't the course I really wanted to study. This actually came as quite a relief because instead of feeling like that opportunity was lost forever, I felt like I had a whole lot of new opportunities open up for me.
It finally became clear to me that what I wanted to do was Fine Arts at a university near my home. This was also quite a competitive degree, and there weren't many spaces, but I was a bit more confident as I had done really well in art at school. I went for an interview with the art department, which was really nerve-racking. I was put on a waiting list and told they might take over a month to tell me whether I had been accepted or not.
I spoke to my Sunday School teacher about it, and she reassured me that there is always a place for everyone in God's kingdom, even though I had been told that space in this course was limited. She said no one can be left out of any good. I was also told that it wasn't really the university that decided whether I should be accepted or not—it was God's decision.
I started to feel much less worried about everything and felt a lot less resentful toward the universities. A week or two later, long before they had told me I would be notified, I was accepted into the Art School at my university of choice. I felt certain that this was the course I wanted to do. At the moment I am doing very well at university and enjoying my degree very much.
Maia James
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
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