Over fourteen years ago I went to California seeking medical help for rheumatism. For over a year I had been a great sufferer from this in my right arm. I tried many material remedies, internal and external, but without receiving any relief. One day a friend asked me to try Christian Science. I went to a practitioner, and was healed in three treatments. As I had no understanding of Christian Science, this seemed to me a wonderful healing.
Shortly after my return home, a neighbor came to see me and told me that a little child had passed on with diphtheria. As I had had this disease twice, the second time being very ill with it, I was left with a great fear of sore throat. I kept thinking of what the neighbor told me; and after a few hours there was quite a manifestation of soreness in my throat. I had always kept a gargle, and started to use it. But the thought came to me, If God healed you once, surely He will heal you again; and I refrained from using any material remedy. In two days a high fever had developed and I was unable to swallow even water. I did not know where to find a Christian Science practitioner, and was about to call a physician when the thought came to me again, "O ye of little faith." I did not call the doctor, but took a blanket and lay down on a couch, thinking what I could do to help myself; and the thought of what Jesus said came to me, "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." Then, too, Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer, which I repeated over and over again until I fell asleep. When I awoke in the morning my throat was perfectly normal, but there was a great sense of weakness. Our dear Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, says on page 15 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures": 'The closet typifies the sanctuary of Spirit, the door of which shuts out sinful sense but lets in Truth, Life, and Love. Closed to error, it is open to Truth, and vice versa." After breakfast was over I was led to read in Science and Health, which my brother had given me when I left the city. I opened the book to the chapter on Prayer and read it through. I was greatly impressed with the reading, and it brought to me a sense of peace and joy and love. Our Leader says, "A grain of Christian Science does wonders for mortals, so omnipotent is Truth" (ibid., p. 449). It was this "grain" which kept me from using any material remedy. Christian Science has been my physician for over fourteen years and has brought me many blessings.
I should also like to tell of the healing of our son of nervous breakdown. During examinations at the close of the school term, he came home one night in an extremely nervous condition and collapsed. To all appearances he seemed to be a physical wreck, unable to talk, feed himself, or walk without help. Some of our friends who had no understanding of Christian Science strongly urged me to take him to a physician, but I had learned that God is the only healing power; so I did not listen to them. A letter was forwarded to a practitioner who was then in Boston, and within a week there was a great change for the better. The boy steadily improved, and within three months was completely healed. He returned to school with the rest of the children in the fall, and did better work that year than in any of the preceding ones.
