I have much for which to be thankful, but when I try to tell of my blessings I hardly know where to begin. My first acquaintance with Christian Science was not the result of my own need for healing, but a dear friend for whom it had done much brought it to my attention. In addition to what she told me, I myself had observed the wonderful transformation in her, and my change of thought began at once. Later, when an opportunity for testing presented itself, I recall the feeling of wonderment that possessed me. It was hard to grasp the thought that sickness, pain, and suffering, with all the attendant worry, labor, and expense, could be overcome so quickly, so quietly, so simply. Its very simplicity startled me.
I have experienced many physical benefits since that time, notably one a few years ago. I was aboard ship, watching a landing being made at a by-port, when a cinder blew into my eye. I submitted to many examinations by passengers in their efforts to relieve me, but it was declared that the cinder was jagged and had embedded itself in the eyeball on the one side and the eyelid on the other, so that nothing but an oculist's instrument could remove it. I tried several things supposed to be effective in such cases, but all to no purpose. My home port was not reached until three hours later, and by the time I arrived there my eye, and face generally, was to mortal sense a sorry sight, while I was suffering greatly. The pain was so great that in order to endure it at all I had to keep both eyes closed, for the least movement of the well eye affected the other. I did not know a practitioner, and was surrounded by friends who knew nothing about Christian Science. After a delay of another three hours I was able to secure the services of a practitioner whose residence was away from the center of the city. I asked for absent treatment and then went to bed. I was soon sleeping peacefully, and awoke the next morning perfectly healed. My face showed traces of the experience, but they soon disappeared.
I would like to speak of another proof of the power of Truth. In June, 1913, I fell, wrenching my ankle quite badly. There was no regular practitioner in the town where I was living at the time, and for a week I tried to overcome the difficulty myself with the aid of another student of Christian Science. July found me struggling with crutches, and many persons predicted many things, for I was surrounded by friends who still clung to material remedies. Finally, after a week of entire helplessness, I went to a near-by city, where I was able to secure the services of the dear friend who first brought this precious truth to me, with the result that one fine day in July I just walked away from the crutches. By September I was going everywhere I wished, and October found me often walking miles a day.
