"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away," we read in the twenty-first chapter of Revelation. This in a measure literally happened to me after taking up the study of Christian Science, for a confused sense of God and His creation began to pass away.
When Christian Science first came to my notice I dismissed it, believing it to be undesirable, unorthodox, and unable to perform the cures it professed to do. Later, a friend in whom I had confidence recommended the study as a help for a younger brother who lived with me. Together we began to study the Lesson-Sermons in the Christian Science Quarterly and to attend the church services. So material were our thoughts that the import of the great spiritual truth given us did not immediately open up to us; so we sought the help of Christian Science practitioner. With this help we redoubled our efforts, with the result that gradually the spiritual facts of being began to unfold and the healings we so much needed to appear. I began by denying error and its claims. In the morning when I would awaken with the heavy, languid feeling habitual to me, I would deny it any power, get up, dress, and by the time I began breakfast I would feel better. These denials I continued with better and better results and with a little more understanding. It was a shock, however, to my educated intellect to learn that sickness was a lie, and that I must treat it as such. When heredi tary nervous headache presented itself I firmly denied it, and learned to repeat "the scientific statement of being" on page 468 of the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy. This condition did yield, but not quickly; only after days were given over to the study of our textbook was I completely healed.
Gradually, as I began to gain in understanding, glasses that I had worn for seven years were laid aside. Another condition very much more serious than those previously mentioned now claimed my attention. One of Cleveland's best physicians pronounced it fistula, and after all medicinal remedies known to him had been tried, he advised an operation. I had been subject to these attacks over a period of years, and they were becoming more frequent. The practitioner who had helped me before was asked to help at this time, with the result that the usual week in bed, and a month to recover my strength, were reduced to one half day in bed and a few days to recover strength. This happened several times, but without the aid of the practitioner, before the trouble wholly disappeared. This demonstration proved to me and to my family that Christian Science, when honestly applied, does heal.
