Words alone cannot express what Christian Science has done for me and mine. My desire is to show my gratitude to God and to our dear Leader, Mrs. Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, by daily living in obedience to its teachings, thereby gaining a broader and higher understanding with which to help others.
When Christian Science came to me I was in the depths of despair from ill-health. Being a wreck both physically and mentally, feeling I was but a burden to myself and to my family, I had decided on self-destruction as the only means of relief. I had never known what it was to be well or happy, but for about six years prior to taking up Christian Science we spent all the money we had, and most of my husband's earnings, on doctors and hospitals for the treatment of Bright's disease and heart trouble. But like the woman in the Bible, I "was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse." We had lost our home in a city where we had lived for many years, and had moved to another, leaving behind a very young and beloved only daughter. This added grief seemed to be more than I could bear. I became so discouraged that it seemed useless to try to go on.
Having been a member of an orthodox church since I was young, I had always read my Bible and prayed a great deal, living as good a Christian life as I knew how, expecting health and happiness; but when only misery and misfortune came I knew nothing more to do. I had lost faith in the church and in my own prayers, and relied wholly upon the Lord's Prayer, not knowing then that it is the "prayer which covers all human needs," as Mrs. Eddy says on page 16 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures."
