To Mrs. Eddy's discovery of Christian Science I owe absolutely everything that is worth while—every day of health, every ray of happiness, every truthful thought. Our dear Leader is constantly calling upon us to realize the freedom which the understanding of Truth brings, and one of the most glorious ways in which this is made manifest is in freedom from the bondage of belief in heredity. To me has come liberation from many supposedly inherited evils, both physical and mental. From earliest childhood I suffered from acute attacks of stomach trouble, which gradually became chronic, and with lung and bronchial trouble, which kept me in the house, often in bed, for weeks at a time; I was also subject to extreme nervousness and fear. Later came violent headaches and backaches, brought on by the slightest exertion. I was sensitive and self-absorbed, craved sympathy, and through looking on the dark side of things, turned molehills into mountains.
I fought my way through school and college with the help of kind teachers, though they gave me little hope of ultimate success. I had begun to teach, when it became evident that I had reached the limit of my poor human will-power and was on the verge of insanity. Doctors foretold a life of semi-invalidism, and one whom I had consulted in regard to heart trouble, said that it was useless to take medicine, that it would only send the trouble to some other part of the body. Just at this time, when it seemed impossible that I could continue to work, two dear ones suddenly became dependent upon me for support. I had always sought in religion comfort, and help to overcome, but saw so few proofs of divine Love and justice that I could not think of God as other than a mere intellectual force.
Then it was that the saving power of divine Truth was brought to my knowledge, and I found that the beautiful promises in the Bible were true and could be proved. One fault, about which I had been most hopeless, vanished with the first ray of light, without conscious effort on my part. Other victories had to be fought for. as was right, and, as I tried to reason things out by the human intellect, my healing was not rapid, but has come in due time, with a more humble thought. I had much help at first from Christian Science practitioners whose lives seemed to me marvels of self-forgetful love and consecration to God's Cause; and now, after some years, I find myself absolutely free from many of the old ills. The pain in head and back, and the heart trouble are entirely gone. I eat everything I wish without a thought of a harmful result, and have had only one bronchial cold in three years, and that of a few days' duration. There has been a gradual upbuilding in finances, through the realization of God's unlimited supply, until now I have more with which to meet my needs than ever before. Outward cheerfulness has become habitual, and struggles with inward depression are now rare. There are some errors still in the process of overcoming, but they, too, will disappear, as thought and life are regenerated.
