Mary Baker Eddy marked 1866 as the year she discovered the scientific laws of spiritual being that Jesus practiced and taught in his Christian healing ministry. Bible truths healed her that year of a serious accident. She spent the rest of her life, 45 years, striving to communicate her remarkable discovery to others.

She laid out her interpretation of Scripture in “;Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.”;

The 100th anniversary of her founding of the Church of Christ, Scientist, was marked with two 1966 publications. “;A Centennial Appreciation”; notes her impact on theology, medicine and science and her extraordinary achievements as preacher, lecturer, teacher, educator, author, healer and founder, not only of a worldwide religious denomination, but of a college, and of several publications.

The other book, “;A Century of Christian Science Healing,”; presents a selection of testimonies written by students of Eddy's writings. In these, people explain how they healed themselves in a variety of stressful circumstances. They tell the way they prayed, how they listened, how they responded obediently and were healed, rescued or saved.

One of these testimonials is by my husband about an experience he had as a Navy pilot.

Ralph was raised in Christian Science by his parents. He was well taught in Sunday School of God's healing, saving presence when appealed to rightly. His mother sent him off to the Navy with this verse from Isaiah: “;Fear thou not, for I am with thee. ... I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”; He prayed this every time he was in the cockpit waiting to take off.

One day he experienced a “;flame-out.”; His jet engine quit at 25,000 feet. After two attempts to restart it and while fast losing altitude, he felt impelled to turn away from the excited chatter from other pilots and shut off his radio. Alone and quiet, he turned wholeheartedly to God in prayer. His thoughts and fears were quickly stilled; his courage, confidence and sense of being loved by God returned.

He tried once again, his last chance before he'd have to eject, and this time the engine caught. He was able to gain all the power and altitude needed to fly back to base safely. The mechanic who checked the engine discovered the fuel pump had burned out and the standby had not been hooked up. He told Ralph the engine could not have re-lighted under those circumstances and, even if it had, there was no way he could have gained that much power.

I have had similar “;miracles”; myself. They're not just biblical and ancient. They're not as unusual as one might think.

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Virginia Aycock is a member of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, 1508 Punahou St., which will celebrate its centennial tomorrow with an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with conducted tours and a 1 p.m. concert by the Windward Choral Society.