Free to dance

Several years ago, while on tour in Texas with a flamenco dance company, I twisted my ankle during the first piece in the performance. I was able to continue dancing until the end of the piece, but once I was off stage, it became painful to put weight on this foot. I was fearful that I would not be able to complete the rest of the performance, and was concerned about disrupting the show by my absence. Since I had about ten minutes until I had to be on stage again, I called the first Christian Science practitioner I found listed in the phone book and asked him for help through prayer.

I’d just begun to study Christian Science about two years prior to this and felt confident that what I was learning about my true identity as a child of God would be effective in treating this situation. Frankly, I couldn’t even think of any material methods that would have taken care of my problem in time for me to be back on stage in ten minutes.

I don’t recall the practitioner’s exact words, but I felt comforted immediately by the ideas he shared with me, namely, that as a child of God, I was not subject to pain or injury, nor could my movement be limited. Throughout the show, I clung to these uplifting ideas and was able to perform the remainder of the show to my full and normal capacity and with no pain.

However, by the end of the performance, my ankle had become swollen and was painful to walk on. When we returned to our hotel, I talked with my flamenco dance teacher, who is a Christian Scientist and also the person who’d introduced me to Christian Science. She patiently affirmed to me that as a child of God, I expressed only harmony, and that there was no place in me for injury to settle. I continued to pray that night.

When I woke the following morning, the ankle was somewhat better, but walking on it was still difficult. Throughout the day, I prayed and thought deeply about “the scientific statement of being” from Science and Health—especially the first two lines: “There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all” (Science and Health, p. 468). I understood that all truth or good is God, and since I was His expression, my being, including my ankle, was safe and only good. As it was a Wednesday, I was able to attend a noon service at a local Christian Science church, which was also a great comfort and support.

By evening, the pain had lessened considerably, and I was able to perform the entire show. By the next day I was totally free of pain, and there was no sign of the injury. I completed the remainder of the tour at my full capacity. The healing was complete and permanent. Today, I no longer even remember which ankle it was.

Allison Adams | San Francisco, California, US