About five years ago I was a mental and physical wreck, obsessed with the thought of suicide and unable to see a ray of hope. I had suffered from a most persistent cold for three years, and finally tuberculosis added the last bitter drop to my days. Two well-known insurance companies refused to insure me after medical examination; and physicians attempted to do very little for me. When the darkest hour at last arrived, I decided to try Christian Science, though I could not give a reason for the hope that was in me, having no concept of what Christian Science is; nor was I able to explain just why I was attracted to it. It was a case of being guided by His hand without knowing it.
I carried to the practitioner a load of self-pity in the conviction that I was a victim of circumstances. I am glad to say that I was healed radically of the overwhelming mental strain, and hope and gratitude were kindled in my heart. Three days later I found that the cold had disappeared, and I did not think of sickness or suffering but of the remarkable truth that was at hand, and of which I had been so long ignorant. I was filled with a sense of inexpressible gratitude to Mrs. Eddy, and of the grandeur and significance of her life and discovery to the sons of men. I became convinced that this Science is indeed of more value than anything else one could desire, and the Bible became a necessity instead of a literary remembrance. I acknowledge a great debt of gratitude to the Christian Science practitioner who, with true tenderness and patience, turned my thought from person to Principle, from earth to heaven.
Since those days Christian Science has been everything to me. Although trials have seemed to multiply, Christian Science has been sufficient for all needs. Recently a severe test came; and though I have passed through the waters, they have not overwhelmed me. I find "no night drops down upon the troubled breast," as our revered Leader beautifully describes Christian experience (Poems, p. 5), when one is faced by the seven thunders of error.
