In submitting this testimony for publication my object is twofold: first, as a beneficiary of Christian Science I desire to express my gratitude through its periodicals to Mrs. Eddy, author of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," whose pages have given me so much help both physically and spiritually; second, the hope is entertained that this will meet the eye of some sufferers, and be the means of inducing them to come and drink at the fount of this healing truth and have their sorrows turned to joy and their supplications to thanksgiving, not only for the healing of their bodies, but for the richness of the joy that will flood their lives, making of each duty to their fellows a votive offering on the altar of divine Love.
I may say that although I had been brought up by a Christian mother, I had been a skeptic always, and until within the last five years I had never gained the power of right thinking. For more than thirty years I had deluded myself with false beliefs, but the law of compensation never falters, it never fails to render full payment for all acts of mortals, be those acts what they may. The old adage that truth is stranger than fiction has been exemplified in many human lives by tragedies so deep that it places them beyond the sphere of imitation, and yet one cannot but concede that these experiences are necessary at times to awaken the human creature who is steeped in self, whose every thought is of the earth, earthy.
To my awakening sense comes the knowledge that the clouds of error slowly lifting from my mental view carry with them the false concepts due to their presence, leaving in their stead clearer perceptions of man's bounden duty to his fellows and his creator. I have come to regard the series of misfortunes that preceded and followed my rude awakening, and of which they were the direct cause, as but a means for my awakening; and although their coming brought many heartaches, I do not regret them now, and would not have them different if things were to remain as in the old life. Domestic troubles, the tearing asunder of family ties, business reverses, ill health, and the sudden passing of loved ones,—all these following in rotation forced me to the brink where it would seem that but a slight impetus was needed to send me down to total destruction; but happily for me, at this time a few good Christian friends gathered around me, buoyed me up with loving words and acts, helping me to place myself in the right attitude toward God (as they knew Him). All honor to them, and though my views have changed, through the understanding that Christian Science is bringing to me, I shall always hold them in loving remembrance.
