THE first thing that comes to my thought is, if I would leave off the last word of the above remark, it would not receive so much criticism from the professing Christians. I was a professing Christian for years, and now I see I was not a Christian in reality until I became one through the study of Christian Science, as given in Science and Health. But it seems to me God was graciously fitting me to receive this deep understanding of himself, and knowledge of my relation to him, all my life.
To relate how I came into this understanding will almost be a history of my life. To be understood both by my Church friends, and by my Christian Science friends, I will relate my own experience. My father was a Lutheran minister. My mother was a good, kind, affectionate Christian woman. Oh how I loved my mother! Father was sincere, earnest, and devoted to the cause of Christ as he understood it, considered a fine speaker, well-beloved in society, and at one time was president of the Lutheran Synod.
Our parents desired us to become Christians, and taught us faithfully; but we did not try to be good any more than other children, and our family was not any more harmonious than other families. In spite of father's religion, he was cross and faultfinding in his family. Although we kept it to ourselves, it made us unhappy, and both mother and children were afraid of him. All of their striving after perfection did not keep away sickness. Mother had severe attacks of asthma until finally it ran into consumption, from which she suffered five years. All this time we did not know any better than to suppose it was a loving God's will, that she should suffer.
