In childhood I loved to hear about children who applied Christian Science to their needs, so I am grateful for this opportunity to tell something of my own early experience. Among the first things I was taught in Christian Science was the great fact that God, Spirit, is the Father and Mother of man, and that His love is ever present to protect His children from harm. This teaching, when rightly applied, proved to be a ready remedy for my childish fears. I was particularly afraid of electric storms, which, at certain seasons of the year, were not uncommon in the state where I lived. On many such occasions the truth about God and man's realtionship to Him was impressed upon my thought through the Lord's Prayer, the ninety-first psalm, and the "scientific statement of being" from the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy (p. 468), with the result that the sense of fear was overcome and peace restored. At about the age of sixteen, during an unusually severe storm, this fear was quickly healed and never returned.
At the age of nine the subject of fourth grade arithmetic became very irksome, and so difficult to me that it was necessary to have daily help outside of school. After my mother had lovingly and patiently assisted me for several months, I began to recognize that I needed to learn to do the work myself; and then I turned to our loving Father-Mother God for help, as I had been taught to do in Christian Science. Soon the subject of arithmetic, instead of being a burden, became most interesting. I was able to do the work myself, and enjoyed it more than any other study in the grades. The interest in mathematics continued. Summer work in algebra was voluntarily taken up before entering high school; the work for the first term was nearly completed, and every problem solved without assistance. In the same way, after entering high school, I learned to enjoy the study of Latin, although in the beginning it had seemed very difficult.
Every physical disorder of childhood, from my earliest recollection, yielded readily to Christian Science treatment, so that no serious physical difficulty was experienced. In later years, however, I have had occasion to test the availability of Christian Science in cases of extreme pain. About eight years ago I was healed of a very painful condition resulting from a frozen foot. For some time the suffering seemed to grow steadily worse, but because of the late hour I felt obliged to make every effort to overcome the condition without calling a practitioner. After struggling for about two hours, I began to consider the healing works of Chrsit Jesus, the master Metaphysician, and remembered his admonition to his followers, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." I recognized that in my struggle to heal the pain I had been seeking first the things which "shall be added," instead of seeking "the kingdom of God, and his righteousness." This awakening brought a greater desire to know how to seek God; so I turned for guidance to the chapter in the Christian Science textbook entitled "Prayer." By the time I had finished a careful reading of its pages I was entirely free from suffering. The healing of the pain was permanent. In a few days the foot was normal in every respect, and I experienced no further inconvenience from the condition.
