It is full time for me to acknowledge the wonderful blessings that have come to me since finding the true understanding of God as revealed through the study and application of the teachings of Science and Health. I was a church-member, had always attended both church and Sunday school, and tried to live up to my beliefs, but when the testing time came there was something wrong either with me or with my religion. My husband and I were on the verge of a precipice; it seemed to me that most of our friends had forsaken us, and I was afraid to trust the few who were apparently true. Our financial condition was not alluring to say the least; we had scarcely the widow's mite. Ill health, disappointment, sorrow, resentment at those who I thought had brought about this condition, unrest, and a determined desire to be revenged on certain people,—this seemed to be about all there was in my mental storehouse.
In the midst of these troubles, which I thought had been sent by a just God, and while I was inwardly and outwardly rebelling at the state of affairs, Christian Science was offered as a solution of this problem. Did I accept it willingly? On the contrary, I turned from it; I had cars, but would not hear. My husband, however, determined to investigate Christian Science, and one day, when he left Science and Health on the table, out of curiosity I began to read it. Nevertheless, I was so antagonistic to the truth that, although not a word of it was understood, I would become so incensed at what I thought I was reading, that I would throw the book across the room, only to walk quietly over, pick it up, and start all over again. At this time my eyes were in bad condition, and the oculist had told me I would have to wear glasses indefinitely. While reading Science and Health one day, I took my glasses off to clean them, and never wore them again, for they were not needed. The healing had begun in spite of myself. This proof of God's all-abiding love broke down the last barrier of opposition. It amazed me that anything so wonderful should happen to me, who had been so unloving and disobedient and had condemned something of which I knew absolutely nothing. Thus did the leaven begin to work.
Severe cold, influenza, acute lung trouble, and bad headaches have been overcome, also trouble with my feet, which would swell up and get tender and ache, so that for a year I wore shoes a size larger than usual. This trouble was with me the greater part of four years, but I have been free from it now for several years. My whole outlook on life has been changed. Whereas I believed that God sent both good and evil, now I am learning that He sends only good. I am learning that it is not faith which saves, but the understanding of God. I am learning to be more charitable toward others,—to allow them the happy privilege of thinking for themselves. One thing which is becoming clear to me is that all I really know about God is what I have proven. One of the most marked improvements with me has been in my disposition. I am being healed of stubbornness, depression, prejudice, and also of the unchristian habit of criticizing others. Fear, worry, and financial limitation used to be constant companions, but are losing their hold upon me.
