"How did you happen to become interested in Christian Science?" This is usually the first question asked a Christian Scientist by one who has just learned of his religious beliefs, and the question which every student of this great Science is happy to answer in sincerity and humility. All of us who have experienced the joy of a spiritual healing know what an overwhelming sense of gratitude it brings, and are glad to testify to the fact that God is "a very present help in trouble."
The need of physical healing first led me to ask for Christian Science treatment. From babyhood I had suffered from eczema, supposedly inherited; and when still a child I found myself utterly discouraged and in a morbidly unhappy mental state. I had been under the care of several doctors, among them an eminent skin specialist, and had tried dieting and various other material remedies, but all had failed to relieve me; in fact, I seemed to be getting steadily worse. My sister had become interested in Christian Science; and while visiting her, I suddenly knew that only Science could heal me. With the consent of my parents she took me to a Christian Science practitioner, and after two weeks' treatment I was completely healed. I shall never forget the joy and peace that flooded my consciousness and replaced the unhappy thoughts that had seemed to predominate before. It had been proved for me, as Mrs. Eddy says in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p.178), that "heredity is not a law;" and I had gained some realization of my birthright as the child of God.
I began the study of Science and Health and the Lesson-Sermons, and found that this book was indeed a "key" to the Scriptures; for the Bible promises seemed illumined as their true spiritual meaning dawned upon my thought. At first, there was much in Science and Health that I could not understand; but I had been advised not to be discouraged by this but to press on faithfully, using as much of the truth as I understood, and I should find that whatever seemed obscure would unfold as the natural result of spiritual growth. This has been proved true many times; and I can recommed it to every one. My first healing was permanent; and during the fifteen years which have elapsed since then, I have had many other proofs of the fact that this Science meets every human need.
