Before taking up the study of Christian Science I attended church because I thought religion made for a better civilization, but not from any thought of devoutness. I had grown to womanhood with a sense of rebelliousness toward things religious, owing to the fact that I had lost a dearly loved sister when I was a small child and had been told it was God's will that she should die. Christian Science has taught me to love life; and it has taught me the lesson of forgiveness.
When Christian Science came into my life it opened up a new world to me—a world I had never dreamed about, and a world that grows more beautiful with each advancing step. When quite a young student in Christian Science business called me to a neighboring city, where I spent several weeks. Very early one morning I was awakened with a severe attack of congestion of the bowels. The suffering was so intense that I was not able to raise myself in bed, although I made several attempts to get up and get a copy of the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, which lay on a table near the bed but which I could not reach. My neck and head seemed to be the only part of me I could move without pain. Knowing there was no one in the house near enough to hear me if I called, the thought came to me that I was going the way several of my family had gone, and I remembered that I had always been terrified with even a slight attack of this kind. However, when I realized my utter helplessness I dropped back on my pillow and said aloud: "Well, if Christian Science does not heal me, then I will just have to die; nothing else is going to have a chance to help me." Almost immediately, though still in great pain, I was able to get out of bed, and get Science and Health, which I read for perhaps half an hour, when I was able to dress and get downtown at my usual time. Within a few hours I was entirely free from pain.
I have also been healed of neuritis. Before coming into Christian Science I had periodical attacks of this trouble, which would last for weeks at a time. On one occasion I was told by the doctor who was handling the case that I should never be well again unless I moved to a dry climate, and that in any event I should always have a lame arm and shoulder. With a rather hopeless outlook I took up the study of Christian Science for the peace and joy it brought me, and not with any expectation of physical healing.
