Two years ago I was an unhappy, suffering, and hopeless woman. I had been an invalid for eighteen years, and during that entire period I was seeking help from first one noted physician and then another, spending months at a time in sanitariums and hospitals, and undergoing various operations in a vain search for health. There were years at a time that I was unable to stand upon my feet, but for a period of four years I was able to walk about the house, and as much as two squares at a time, although suffering constantly with headache and spinal trouble. Because of supposed nerve poverty, I was unable to use my eyes, and I was so deaf that I was compelled to use a trumpet in order to hear a strange voice. At last all hope of help was gone. I was like a ship tossed at sea, engulfed in anguish and despair. But in the final hour of darkness the heavenly Father was watching over His child, and led me, in a most unexpected way, to a faithful Christian Scientist, an entire stranger. She advised me, in a gentle and loving way, to get Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, and to study it with the Bible.
It was in Indianapolis, in January, 1903, that I met this lady, as I was passing through the city on my way home. Without a moment's hesitancy, I followed her advice, and the next day began an earnest search for light. It was for peace of mind, and rest from the bitter rebellion raging in my soul against my deafness and the condition in which I was left after the final operation, that I entered into the work. I had no hope that I could ever be cured of the constant and intense physical suffering, for all the doctors who had treated me had said, one after another, that they could do nothing more for me, but I prayed that my mental condition might be changed so that I could endure the suffering without the fear of insanity.
For four weeks I read, seemingly unable to understand any of the teachings in Science and Health, and without being conscious of help, although I received it at once, in being able to read for hours at a time. Relying upon God, I attempted to walk, but the old pain and lameness held me captive, and my husband would have to support me home. One evening, a month after I began the study, I was reading the 40th chapter of Isaiah. I felt that these promises were for me, and I wondered why I had been unable to receive them and to prove the truth. A mighty prayer came from my heart, Help me, Lord, to know the truth. In turning to Science and Health I opened the book on page 224, and read the paragraph which invites us to open the door to the divine message. It then came to me that I had been working all this time with my door closed, and I said, Father, I open it now, to any angel who seeks to enter, bringing health and happiness.
