When I first heard of Christian Science, it did not appeal to me as anything that I wanted, for at that time I was a member of an orthodox church and thought I was perfectly satisfied with my God. From a child I loved to study the Bible and to know more about God, but I thought it was all right for any one to be sick, and that it must be God's will. I supposed that to be a Christian Scientist, I would have to give up my church, my God, and everything. I had the book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures"by Mrs. Eddy, at this time, and had read some of it, but it did not mean any more to me than any book, so I had put it away.
About this time my husband was taken with a serious illness; he was under materia medica for a number of weeks and was growing worse every day. I noticed that on those days when the doctor did not come, he would seem better, but it was not lasting, and finally the doctor said nothing more could be done for him. In our deep despair, and as a last resort, we thought we would turn to God through Christian Science treatment, as "Man's extremity is God's opportunity." I told the doctor not to call again and I wrote to a Christian Science practitioner in Boston to take the case. I remember thinking one day that my husband was not improving sufficiently under this treatment, and I called in a doctor, but he gave us no encouragement. Then, as soon as he left, I wrote to the Christian Scientist again without telling her of the doctor's visit, for we thought we could have both, and my fear was so great that I did not dare give up either. Things drifted along in this way for a few days, causing us to feel very undecided. At last the Scientist found out that we were having a doctor, whereupon she wrote a letter which was quite a rebuke to us, saying, "Choose you this day whom ye will serve." These few words sank down deep into our hearts, and we thought how ungrateful we were to God and to the dear Scientist who had been so patient with us through this trial. It did not take us long to decide; we said if there is anything in Christian Science we will give it a fair trial. Then the treatment was continued, minus the doctor; the healing commenced to take place at once, and to our great surprise, in less than a week, my husband was well and happy, and about his daily employment.
The joy and happiness which then came to us I cannot express in words! The first commandment says, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." It came to us one day, that we did not want any medicines in our home, for that was a "false god," and contrary to the teachings of Christian Science, that we must put on "the whole armor of God," not a part, so all the medicine—a large quantity—was collected together and thrown away, and not a drop has been in our home during the ten years since that time. For all this wonderful healing, which was done so quickly,—that seemed to be all I was looking for, —I did not think I cared to read Science and Health or study the Lesson-Sermons with my husband, but instead I wanted to go my own way a little while longer, and I did for over six months. During this time I was not at all happy; I did not seem to be taking the interest in my church that I used to, and I wondered why.
