In loving gratitude for all the good that has come to me through Christian Science I write this testimony, hoping it may help some one who feels the need of strength and comfort as I did. I came to Christian Science not for physical healing but for more spiritual light. Rather, I did not come to Christian Science at all; it was brought to me in answer to prayer. I had an experience in childhood that neither I nor others seemed to understand in the least, until I read Mrs. Eddy's book "Retrospection and Introspection." Then I understood what had come to me, and this caused me to love Mrs. Eddy and to listen patiently to all she has said to us through her writings.
It was believed by my parents that I had inherited kidney and liver trouble. I often felt tired and did not want to play, so I would sit for hours and listen to my father as he explained the Bible stories. I think I was about fifteen years old when I had a remarkable religious experience, and from that time until between three and four years ago, a period of over thirty years, I never ceased trying to find God. I was connected with several religious denominations and was obedient to all that they assured me would bring peace and satisfaction, but I found each time only sad disappointment, and I felt myself getting worse both mentally and physically.
At twenty-three years of age I married, and hoped like most young wives to find satisfaction in home ties; but I was again doomed to disappointment. Toward the end of the first year after my marriage, I had a very bad illness, and it was believed that I was suffering from an internal misplacement. I went on in this state nearly twenty years, being at times so very ill that a doctor had to be called, and at last I found it impossible to go about. I then went to a specialist on these ailments. Afterward, when he had examined me, he said there certainly was something wrong, but if I would consent to an operation I might be relieved. I consented, yet after two days the trouble returned, and I asked the doctor if he would again try to help me. He consented; but in a fortnight the second operation was also found to be a failure.
