At the age of sixteen I was thrown from a carriage, thereby injuring my spine so seriously that for fifteen years after I never knew what it was to have a perfectly well day, having pain in the head and back much of the time, and almost constantly during the last two of the fifteen years. Three years prior to my coming into a knowledge of the truth, I was in such a condition that it was thought a trip to relatives in Iowa might be beneficial. I went West with the intention of remaining six weeks, but was there four months, as I was taken very ill with a fever and at times doubts of my recovery were entertained. As soon as I was able to do so I started for home, a physician going to Chicago with me and my husband meeting me there. At this time I weighed but eighty-six pounds. I reached my home in September, and three months later I was undergoing both medical and surgical treatment in the Maine General Hospital. I could say much of the kindness shown me there, but I was not benefited physically and my sufferings were so great the last year that often I would waken in the morning and drearily think of another day to be lived through, and when I retired at night thank God that I was one day nearer the end. To say this meant much, for I was young, had a devoted husband, a dear little daughter, a pretty home, a host of friends and relatives,—everything but health to make life worth living. One day in the following spring, a friend who was calling asked why I did not try Christian Science, and in surprise I asked her what that was. She could only tell me that a relative of hers who had been a confirmed invalid for years had been healed by it, and that she herself had seriously thought of applying to it for physical relief. I was interested in what she told me, but as I had just purchased an expensive three-months course of medical treatment I felt I must try that first; if it failed, then I would think of what she had said. This experiment failed, as all material things must, and by that time I was quite ready for Christian Science and sought out my friend. This lady had a copy of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, which she kindly offered me, and she also advised me to write to a Christian Scientist of whom she knew.
I remember writing the Scientist that I could not understand why so much pain had been mine, but that doubtless God had sent it for some good purpose (how could one think that of the dear Father!), and that I had truly tried to be patient, brave, and uncomplaining; also that if my receiving help depended upon my understanding Science and Health, I feared it would be' useless to try, as my mental condition was such that I could not understand anything very clearly. A beautiful letter came in reply to mine, in which the practitioner said that it was never God's will that we should be sick, and he quoted this verse of Scripture, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind;" assuring me that what God had given us He never would take away. I then began the study of Science and Health, and at the end of three weeks my friend and I went to the practitioner for treatment.
During the three weeks' study I had made notes of certain points on which I wished explanation, and in my first conversation with the practitioner I said that I had come with a very long list of questions. Some of these were asked the second day, but after that, in the absorbing interest taken in the whole subject, they must have been forgotten. At the close of the week the practitioner asked, with a twinkle in his eye, what had become of that formidable list of questions, and when I hunted them up I found, to my great joy, that they were practically all answered. After a week's treatment I was so convinced that I had found the truth that I decided to take the case into my own hands and work out the problem myself. I have been at work ever since, with the result that I have not spent one whole day in bed for eleven years; and not only this, but I have had the privilege of lifting the burdens in life's pathway for others through the power of this blessed truth.
